Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year
by Lady Grizabella
Summary: Book 2 in the Draco's Desires series. A Draco / Ginny fic with the Dream Team as well. Draco tries to stay out of trouble, but fails miserably as the kids end up in another unexpected adventure that carries them far away from home. *Revised 3/8/03*
1. Once Again, Presenting Draco

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Note: Hi everyone! Draco and the gang are back for another adventure! This is Book 2 in the "Draco's Desires" series, so it might be helpful if you read "Draco's Desires" first. You'll probably be able to catch on to this too, though, even if you don't read the first story. There are also spoilers for my first story in this one. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one too! Bye!

~Lady Grizabella

setsuna_haruka_michiru@yahoo.com

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part One

Once Again, Presenting Draco

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Hello. It is I, Draco Malfoy. Yes, I'm back again. Aren't you all glad? I'm here yet again to relate another series of adventures to you. As if I haven't already had enough to last me a lifetime. You'd think that I would not have any reason to get into such adventures, since I've been so awfully good. In fact, while lounging with Ginny in her room, I took a vow of goodness. "I, Draco Malfoy, hereby promise to be a good boy this year!" This made Ginny laugh, which was good, because I was wrapping bandages around her burned feet at the time, and this often made her cry from the pain. We had been caught in a nasty fire a month ago, but that's a whole other story. 

So then why do I still manage to get into so much trouble? But first things first.

I had been staying at The Burrow, the home of the Weasley family. At first glance, the house was strange and unsophisticated, but from the moment I wandered in from the Ministry's vehicle that was transporting us, life was really quite sweet. Anything to stay away from my father who tried to sacrifice me to Lord Voldemort, and almost got me killed in the process - not to mention Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Ginny, who can hardly walk at this time. Bastard. I'll never forgive him as long as I live…which may not be too long, the way things are looking. Voldemort is still on the loose. 

I was set up to sleep at the top of the house with Ron and Harry, who was staying the rest of the summer. I didn't mind this too much, but I think Ron was pretty put out. I could hear him downstairs whining. "But, _Mum_! I don't mind so much that he's here, but why does he have to be in with Harry and me?"

"Ron, you know we don't have a room specifically for him. And you know we can't put him in with the Twins…they'll eat him alive!"

I screwed up my nose. They _would_ eat me alive. 

So in the end, I bunked up with Ron and Harry. We ended up getting along all right, at least when I wasn't making fun of Ron's Quidditch team. I started off by pretending to gag every time I walked into the room, since the whole place was plastered with orange, but when they started ignoring me I gave it up and became a rather quiet houseguest. 

I spent most of my time with Ginny, anyway. Her feet had been badly burned and they were taking a very long time to heal. Luckily, she was a light little thing and easy to carry, even though I was small myself. Since she could only hobble around, she spent most of her summer lounging in a chair, or outside in the grass, unless we were all out playing "Let's kick Draco's bum at Quidditch." She had become quite good on a broom, since it was the only way she could travel as fast as the rest of us. If we went into the woods for a romp, she would be following right along on Harry's broom. For those of you who know about our last adventure, Ginny told Dumbledore where she had hidden Harry's broom upon her arrival at Little Hangleton and he was able to retrieve it for Harry again. When the Firebolt was successfully returned, it was a happy day in Potter Land. 

Of course, having the Firebolt allowed Harry to beat me in Quidditch to his heart's content. It's bad enough he has to be so damn good on the school team, but does he have to kick our bums during the summer? Oh well, it was usually me against everyone else anyway, so it wasn't really my fault. One can be a lovely Quidditch player and still have a hard time playing _all_ the positions by himself. The only other person who really wanted to be on my team was Ginny, but she was on a Cleansweep and her older brothers didn't much want to Bludger her. Me, I had bumps all over my head. The Weasley's practice Bludgers might have been a lot softer than the professional ones, but I still don't delight in having them bouncing off my head while trying to shove Harry off his broom when the Snitch came into sight. But it was still a jolly good summer, I would say. Better than being cooped up in my room, expecting Voldemort to come bursting through my door at any second, on the invite of my father. 

There was also Ginny's baby. Of course, he wasn't really Ginny's baby. Ginny was still thirteen and innocent as can be. The baby had come into existence a month ago when Voldemort decided he wanted an heir and that Ginny would be the child's mother. The baby had been dead for years at the time, but Ginny reformed him and he was brought back to life using the respective life-forces of Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and me, which the Dark Lord siphoned out of our bodies. Voldemort tried to put some of himself into the baby too, but he didn't succeed. So the child was very much the five of us, and not him. Did I mention he looks exactly like Harry, right down to his black hair and green eyes? I wonder if that means something? At any rate he's a cute little tot with Harry's spunk and bravery, Hermione's intelligence, Ron's temper (especially when we try to change his britches, bloody!), and Ginny's sweetness. He also has my sense of mischief, I must admit. In all fact, he's mostly Ginny and me, since the most life-force was taken from us. We're his 'parents'. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are the ones to raise him. Ginny and I really know nothing about caring for children. He sure is fun to play with, though. Oh yes…Ginny named him Nathaniel. Nathaniel Weasley-Malfoy. Wouldn't my father just die!

So this was my summer. I really liked it at The Burrow, and I didn't want to go back to Hogwarts in two weeks. I didn't feel up to hanging around with Crabbe and Goyle and making trouble anymore. I didn't want to be in Slytherin anymore. I wanted to sleep up in the Gryffindor tower, in Ginny's dorm, specifically. I didn't feel worthy of being a Slytherin, since I had been so weak this past summer. I had gone to the good side, and I didn't really want to go back to the bad. And then there was Snape who was so good to me on the afternoon of the fire, when I was burnt and in pain and I thought Ginny was dead. He had held me and rocked me as if I was his own child. How could I ever face him again after letting him be so kind and caring with me? I was so embarrassed after the fact. 

So now you know who I am and how I feel. There's no way I would go back to school. Absolutely no way. Why would I go back there when I have my Ginny, my baby, and everything I want right here?

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Note: Well, we're off to a good start. I tried to answer a few of the questions people have been asking me about the first story, so I hope this helps! And for new people, thanks for reading! Part Two coming soon. :)

All characters belong to J.K. Rowling except for young Master Nathaniel Weasley-Malfoy. *grin*


	2. Diagon Alley

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Two

Diagon Alley

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Three days before the Hogwarts Express was scheduled to leave, I was leaning at the kitchen table in The Burrow, my chin resting on my folded arms. It was early in the morning and I couldn't sleep. The night before, Mrs. Weasley had told us all to get a good night sleep because we were going to go to Diagon Alley to pick out school things. I was still under the impression that I wasn't going. Besides, Mother had had my trunk shipped to me, so I didn't need anything anyway. I tried to tell Mrs. Weasley this, but she said I needed books. And I suppose I did. That is, I would if I were going.

Once everyone was asleep, I had sneaked into Ginny's room and crawled into bed with her. She stirred and turned over, blinking at me. "Can't you sleep, Draco?"

"No…" I snuggled up next to her and rubbed her poor feet. "Does that feel good? Do they hurt?"

"Not too much. And I love that." She hugged onto me. "Why can't you sleep?" We were such an 'old married couple'.

"Because we're supposed to go get our school things tomorrow, but I'm not going to Hogwarts. I'm staying here with you and Nattie." That's what Ginny and I called Nathaniel. 

She sat up. "But Draco…I want to go to Hogwarts!" 

"But you can't. Your feet are too messed up." 

She cupped my face in her hands. "I think I can do it." 

I turned onto my back and looked up at her. "What do you mean? Do you think your parents will let you go? You're not walking well yet."

"But I want to go so much! Look!" She slipped out of bed and walked slowly, but steadily across the room. "It will take me awhile to get to class, but I don't want to be held back a year. I'll start to feel so daft if I don't practice my magic. I'll make myself walk!" She headed back towards me and toppled into my outstretched arms with a laugh. "Besides, I want to be with you."

"I still don't want to go for more reasons than one. But you get some sleep now. It'll be a big day tomorrow, especially if you're walking all around Diagon Alley." I tucked her in well and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, little sprite." I headed back up to the boy's room, feeling dread.

*****

I now lifted my head from my arms and looked out the window at the rising sun. I had just remembered that today was my birthday. I was now fifteen, the same age as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Usually my mother and father threw me a spectacular birthday party and invited all my friends, but I didn't foresee any of this today. Not that I cared much. If it were up to my father I would have been dead a month ago. 

There was a movement in the doorway and I looked over. Ginny was standing there with a bright red bow wrapped around her chest, over her nightgown. She was trying not to giggle. "Happy Birthday!" she cried and flung herself at me.

"Ahh!" I hugged her and planted a kiss on her lips. "Silly girl! What are you doing?" I let her share my chair and admired the bow. "That's strategically placed…"

She collapsed into a fit of giggles and flushed. She was so goofy. 

"How did you know it was my birthday?" I was pleased. Very pleased.

"A birthday package from your mum arrived yesterday. So we decided to celebrate too, later today."

"How sweet…" Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad day after all. 

The morning progressed quickly from there. Soon I was surrounded by a noisy brood of very tired, but enthusiastic Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley promptly tackled Ginny and pulled the bow off her chest, muttering something about morals, while the twins threw bread at each other and made a big fuss about Ron using the last of the jelly. It was a typical morning.

Mrs. Weasley knew I didn't want to go to Diagon Alley, so she was especially sweet to me. "Don't worry, Dear…you'll be excited once you get back to Hogwarts. And Ginny looks like she's moving around well. I'll see what her father says, and if he sees fit, she will go with you. You'll have a lovely year."

"I suppose so…" My sprits were rising, so I cheerfully ate my cereal and fended off a blueberry attack from Ron. Harry snorted into his milk and Ginny was in hysterical laughter again. We were so delightfully immature. 

We traveled to Diagon Alley by Flu Powder, probably my least favorite mode of travel. I preferred Portkeys or brooms, personally. I always managed to bump my elbows on the sides of the fireplaces when I traveled this way. Mrs. Weasley told me to keep my arms tightly around myself and I would be fine. And I was. Mrs. Weasley is really very wise. 

Once we were there, Harry and Ron went off to meet Hermione at Gringotts. Ginny and I would catch them up later, with Nathaniel. Whenever we went out, Ginny insisted on keeping him with her. Mrs. Weasley had enchanted a little flowered backpack that was meant to carry babies so that Ginny or I could wear him on our back. Since it was magical, it didn't feel as if he weighed anything. This way Ginny and I felt as if we had some sort of part in his upbringing. I guess you could say we were babysitting. 

We moved slowly down the winding street, Nathaniel gurgling on Ginny's back and me holding onto her arm to brace her if her sore feet gave out. We made quite a handsome three-some and witches and wizards smiled at us from all around. So this is what being good was like? Not bad. I was getting more attention with this beautiful young girl and my boy than I ever got when I was walking around looking haughty and full of myself.

There were some whispers, of course. "Isn't that Lucius Malfoy's son? What's he doing with that girl?"

"And that baby. He looks like he's forming a little family…that's not _his_ child is it?" 

"I should hope not! That's a Weasley…I would know the hair anywhere. Dirty blood, that."

I felt like a local celebrity. And just when I want to fit in! Damn. I squeezed Ginny's hand, keeping my mind on spending the day in peace with her. "Where are we going first?"

"Ollivanders. I need my wand fixed. It was singed in the blaze." We turned in her wand there to have it all fixed up with the promise it would be done on the last day of August and delivered to the Burrow. Then we bought a couple of new robes for each of us. Ginny was very excited because she was finally able to get new robes instead of second hand ones. The Weasleys had had enough extra money to get the kids some new things. I tried on my matching robes and then we stood in front of the mirror, gazing at ourselves. Nathaniel clung to the hem of Ginny's robe and gurgled. We were such beautiful people; it would make everyone jealous. 

We then made our way to Flourish and Blotts to meet the others and get our books. By this time I had resigned myself to the fact that I was going to be attending school this year. I could see Harry and the others through the front window of the store. I lifted my hand and waved to them, a grin on my face. I felt so giddy.

Suddenly, Ginny cried out and a rough hand spun me around, wrenching me away from Ginny. I was staring into my father's eyes. "What do you think you're doing, waving to those vermin?" He hissed at me. He looked as if he wanted to strike me, but a cry from Ginny stopped him. He turned to look at her. "What are you staring at there, girl?" Then his eyes fell upon Nathaniel. Ginny was carrying him at the time, and she hugged him closer to her and teetered unsteadily on her feet now that my hand was gone from her arm. Father hissed through his teeth. "Is that…is that…?"

I glared at him coldly. "That, Father, is my son. His name is Nathaniel Weasley-_Malfoy_." 

Father grimaced. "You would attach your name onto that of the likes of _that_?" He pointed sharply at Ginny, who glared. 

I smacked his hand aside. "Don't you ever point at her again! Don't you point at her, speak to her, or even look at her ever again! I am not under your control anymore and she means more to me than you ever did or ever will!" I snapped. "Come on Ginny, let's go meet the others." I took Nathaniel from her and grasped her hand. "Good-day, Father."

I left him seething. Take that! Draco Malfoy is under the control of no one! 

Harry approached me when we entered the bookshop. I handed Nathaniel over to Mrs. Weasley and Harry lifted Ginny onto his back as she was getting tired of standing. "What did he say to you?" he asked. "Ron and I were ready to blast him." Apparently, they had watched the whole exchange. 

"Nothing that bears repeating." I looked out the window and smirked. "He's never going to win me back. He's lost me forever." 

Harry hoisted Ginny a bit, and she lay her head on his shoulder. "Let's get our books and head home. She's tired and you look stressed."

I _was_ stressed. What if Father refused to leave me alone? And I didn't like the way he had looked at Nathaniel. It made me feel sick. Why was everyone so obsessed with our baby? I suddenly realized that I was glad to be going to school. It would get me away from _him_. 

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	3. Slytherin Shame

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Three

Slytherin Shame 

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Early on the morning of September 1st, I was dragged out of bed by an unseen force. "Gerroff me…lemme alone…" I was so intelligent in the morning. 

It was Ron. "Get up, you bloody git! We're going to Hogwarts." He dragged me out of my bed and I landed with a thump. Maybe he was glad to be getting rid of me. Well, that's what he thinks! "Mum wondered if you could go wake up Ginny. She's anything but a morning person and we're all afraid she'll kill us." He grinned at me.

"So you want me to get killed instead?"

"Hey, you're the one who's going to be waking up next to her for the rest of your life!"

I flushed and picked myself up off the floor, trying to regain some of my lost dignity. "Very well, then." I sauntered haughtily down a flight of stairs and into Ginny's bedroom. Once I was there I lost all my class. I lay down on the bed next to her and practically begged her to get up. "Sweetie…wakey wakey time!" I was a desperate man. This woman did not want to budge. 

She groaned and tried to shove me off. It was going to be a long seventy years. 

After sweetly coaxing for about seven good minutes, I was ready to start the day. "Okay Gin, as fun as this is, I'm going to do this the hard way." I threw off her covers, hauled her into my arms the best I could, and proceeded to head out of the room and down the stairs. I'm surprised I hadn't fallen down the stairs by now, despite how little Ginny was. "I'm going to dunk you in the tub!"

"You wouldn't dare!" she squeaked. At least I had her attention now.

I ended up dumping her on the sofa and sitting on her. "Good morning, sunshine."

"Grrrrr…" she glared, which turned into a giggle. Thus, the princess awakened.

The rest of the morning is nothing much to mention. We ate breakfast, double-checked that our trunks were packed, made sure Ginny didn't have anything that once belonged to Tom Riddle in any shape or form, and stopped Nathaniel from eating my socks. Maybe he had Ron's intelligence and not Hermione's. 

Somehow, we all piled into Mr. Weasley's new Muggle car and we sped off for King's Cross Station. We were stopped at about four red stoplights on the way. At this point, I leaned out one of the windows, pulled out my wand, and prepared to blast the irritating specimen of Muggle existence. 

Mrs. Weasley pulled me back in the car. "That will be enough of that! If we can make it to the station without destroying something I will be a very happy woman!" She already had to stop Fred and George from trying to transfigure a squirrel as we drove through a major metropolitan area. Her nerves were becoming shot. We were all a little magic-happy, having not been able to use any since last term. 

" 'Top Light!" Nathaniel yelled.

"That's right, Nathaniel! 'Stop Light'!" Mr. Weasley loved Muggle things. 

Somehow, even in the wake of chaos, we managed to make it through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ and onto the train. There was a very teary exchange as Ginny held onto Nathaniel for dear life. "Nattie! Will I ever see you again?" She was a bit over-dramatic, but I knew how she felt.

Nathaniel let us all give him kisses, but burst into tears as soon as Ginny and I were on the train. "Gin! Dra!" He howled. Poor Mrs. Weasley. Just when she thought she was getting rid of all her kids. 

Ginny leaned her head out of the compartment window and her mother and father both kissed her. "Be a good girl, Pumpkin," Mr. Weasley said. "Remember to avoid anything suspicious!"

"I will, Daddy!" She tearfully waved goodbye to them as the train started to pull out with a long blow on the whistle. "Goodbye Mum! Goodbye Daddy!"

I put an arm around her and waved too. "Thank you for everything!" I had this sinking feeling that I might never see them again. 

*****

We settled into our compartment. This was very odd for me. The last time I was on this train, I was lying in the hallway outside the 'Potter And Company Compartment' with spines all over my body, completely out cold. Now I was on the inside, Ginny's head on my shoulder. She was still sniffling a little bit. It was hard for her to leave home. Ron said she always had a hard time, especially her first year. And now she was leaving Nathaniel. I stroked her hair. "Don't be so sad, Gin. We'll see him a lot. There's always the holiday breaks. And your mum said she would bring him by from time to time. You're still his mum."

Hermione shook her head. "I still can't get over that…" She was sitting awfully close to Ron. I quirked an eyebrow. What was up with those two? They were two of the weirdest characters I had ever met. 

I sighed. I often got caught up in domestic bliss. It was such a strange and warm feeling for me. But I realized that Nathaniel was not exactly ours. We were just kids and we were supposed to be having fun and not worrying about some baby brat. I smiled. "Cheer up, Ginny. We're going to school, where we're almost completely free!" Not completely free…the only place I ever felt free was in the Chamber of Secrets. NO! We would not go down that road again. 

Ginny sat up and smiled at me, brushing away tears. "I'm happy, really. I love Hogwarts. It's just been a strange summer."

I squeezed her hand. "I'll say."

She suddenly brightened. "Draco! Introduce me to your friends, will you?" 

I started. "My _friends_? You mean…the Slytherins?"

"Of course. I want to meet them."

Harry gave her a look. "You don't want to meet them." What did that look mean? He was looking at Ginny almost hungrily, as if he didn't want her out of his sight.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not like I would let them hurt her! But I'm not sure if you really want to meet them, Ginny. They might not really understand."

"Well, I'll make them understand! I'm sick of all of them pretending like they're so great and being so rude to everyone." She jumped up and headed out of the compartment, her hair flying.

Harry jumped, reaching out a hand at her retreating back. "No! They'll do something bad to her." He glared at me and I glared back. "You don't mean to tell me that you trust them?"

I shrugged. "Maybe you're the one I shouldn't trust." I got up to follow Ginny. 

As I walked out I could hear Ron mutter. "You can never quite tell whose side that bloke is on…" 

*****

I picked my way down the corridor, peering in at people through the doors, looking for Ginny or the Slytherins. "Hello. Oh, sorry there. Have you seen any of the Slytherins? Didn't mean to disturb. Pardon me." I received so many funny looks. True, I didn't sneer at them and I was polite, but was I that different? I wasn't always cruel just to be cruel. Was I?

I finally heard some kind of commotion down the way. I heard screaming. "Ginny!" I belted it down there and burst into one of the compartments. "Pansy! Let her go!" Pansy Parkinson was standing there, laughing her head off, while Millicent Bulstrode had Ginny pinned to the floor of the train. Ginny was screaming at the top of her lungs. I then saw that Millicent was twisting her feet. "NOT HER FEET!!" I screamed. I flung myself into the great ox of a girl and sent her sprawling off of Ginny. Ginny described my action later as 'Draco Malfoy, Human Torpedo'. 

Pansy pouted. "But Dracie! She came bursting in here and tried to shake our hands and exclaimed that she wanted to meet all of your friends! The little Gryffindor was obviously lost, so we decided to remedy that." She pouted out a very pink lower lip. "After all, she must be insane. How could she think you would really be friends with such a little sprout of a girl?" She nudged the fallen Ginny with her foot. "She's a Potter Package. Send her on back." She crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air.

I would have smacked her if she had been a boy. Even so, I still wanted to. "Have some manners, Parkinson," I seethed. "This one is off-limits." I pulled Ginny up and wrapped my arms around her protectively.

She gawked at me. "Have you snapped, Dracie?"

I gave her my best haughty look. "I would prefer being called 'Mr. Malfoy', if you please."

She shook her head. "To think I ever thought you were cute. You're a despicable excuse for a Slytherin!" Her eyes blazed. "You just wait 'till we get to school…you'll be sorry! No one leads me on and lives!"

"Lead you on? I didn't lead you on!" I was outraged.

"You took me to the Yule Ball, didn't you? You're mine now, Dracie, and you can't change that. So don't even try, or you'll be sorry!"

I smirked. "We'll see, won't we." I let out a cold laugh and turned to go, holding onto Ginny. 

As for Ginny, she turned to them, and getting a little bit of that spunk back now that the pain had died down, she gave them a little wave. "Buh-Bye!" She took off down the corridor, limping slightly. Damn that Millicent for touching those feet!

*****

Once we were out of Slytherin range, we found an empty compartment of our own. I had her sit on the seat and I pulled off her shoes and examined her feet. "Did she hurt you? What were you thinking?"

She glared out the window. "I don't know. It was dumb…I just had this feeling that I would be accepted since I'm your girlfriend now. And they're your friends." 

"Those ones are not my friends. Pansy is the one Slytherin you really have to look out for. The others are too loyal to me to ever do anything to you. But Pansy is ruthless."

"I'm not scared of her, Draco! I'm not a child! I'll be fourteen in November."

"I know. But you're small and good. They're large and bad. Even _I'm_ afraid of Pansy," I admitted with a laugh. "And _everyone_ is afraid of Millicent!"

She laughed slightly. "I'm not worried. I'll try to stay clear. I would rather not be killed. I was just trying to be friendly."

I lay down on my stomach on the seat across from her. "I like it when you're friendly." I gave her a naughty look. "Want to play Truth or Dare?"

"Shush it, Draco!" She rolled over on her seat, laughing at my expression. 

I gave into the fun of spending time with Ginny as I tried to push bad feelings out of my head. It's just as well this happened, since it was inevitable and I wouldn't have to dread it now. Maybe Pansy would just leave Ginny alone. And the other Slytherins would be with me…right? I shook my head. Who cares, anyway? I'm being good this year, and that was a solemn promise made to the princess of The Burrow! I tackled Ginny. Hurrah for the new school term!

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	4. Outcast

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Four

Outcast 

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I sat at the Slytherin table, wishing I was a Gryffindor. Draco Malfoy, wishing he was a _Gryffindor_? Had I gone insane? I think maybe I had. 

When I hopped off the train, I admit I looked as if I had been fraternizing with the enemy. My robe was all crooked and Ginny's hair was standing on end. She had gotten a bit frisky once it got dark, and who was I to complain? I noticed Pansy whispering to a group of the Slytherins, but I smiled. They would never listen to her. Half of them were probably as annoyed by her as I was.

But for some reason they did listen to her. A 6th year girl eyed me. "Been through the wringer, Malfoy? Tumbling with the Gryffindors?" 

I flushed and straightened my robes. "None of your business, there!" I grumbled and looked around for Crabbe and Goyle. Ginny had gone off with Hermione and the boys in their carriage, so I was left with my old friends. It was just as well, since Ginny had to sit with Harry and the others at the feast anyway. Crabbe and Goyle were happy enough to see me, if they were ever that happy. They always looked fairly sullen, unless of course someone fell on his head in the mud or something such as that. We shook hands like gentlemen, though, and boarded a carriage. 

I sat across from them and stared out the window. "I wonder how you get to the Gryffindor common room…?" Goyle made some kind of a grunt. I turned to look at him. "What? Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you both staring at me like that?"

Goyle answered. "The Slytherins think you're a traitor."

I glared. "I am _not_ a traitor. _You_ are, if you listen to them."

Crabbe looked like he was trying to sort this all out in his small brain. I was so _bored_ with them and the year had just started. "Are you really with the youngest Weasel?"

My eyes flashed. "Shut up, you! If you want to keep your tongue inside your mouth, you'll hold it!" I slumped back against the carriage seat and looked out the window. It was starting to rain. And I was in trouble. When I lost my high standing in the eyes of the Slytherins I would have nowhere to go. I closed my eyes and imagined I was holding Nathaniel, Ginny dosing next to me. I was a Slytherin. It was all I was and all I knew how to be. I didn't know how to be a Gryffindor. Maybe I should just go back to The Burrow. 

I spent most of the feast plotting how to somehow crawl across the Great Hall and under the Gryffindor house table without being seen so I could snuggle up against Ginny's legs. I had never felt so lonely, and I've always been lonely. All the members of my house insisted on ignoring me, and I had the distinct feeling that they were even laughing at me. But why? Was it all because of Ginny? Or was it because of Harry Potter? That had to be it. I had become friends with the Gryffindors, so I was no longer a Slytherin. It was as easy as that. The problem was, I wasn't exactly friendly with the Gryffindors in general. 

*****

I received the first sign that I was oh so wanted when it was time to retire. Someone changed the password to get into the Slytherin common room, and conveniently didn't tell me. I stood out there, pounding on the stone wall and screaming obscenities until Professor Snape came by and let me inside. I stomped down to my dorm room to discover that someone had strewn the contents of my trunk all over, and there were snakes in my bed…just for fun, of course. I retaliated by blasting apart everyone's beds with my wand, with them in it. Crabbe and Goyle looked at me with great surprise as they floundered onto the floor in the ruins of their beds, their faces blackened, but I felt no sympathy. If they didn't actually do it, they could have prevented it. They were _supposed_ to be my muscle. 

Seething with anger, I said a quick spell and all of my things flew back into my trunk. I pulled on my cloak with the hood and shoved a pair of sunglasses over my eyes, not wanting to be recognized by anyone. I was going to get out of there. I couldn't stay in an environment where everyone was out to get me. It was too much like home. I would have to get them back, but I couldn't think about that at the moment. I was too fatigued. As my dorm-mates smirked, I pulled my trunk slowly across the floor, my face burning with embarrassment. 

I yanked my heavy trunk all the way up from the dungeons and up numerous flights of stairs. It must have been about two in the morning by then. I kept hoping I would run into a Prefect who could direct me to the Gryffindor common room. Lucky for me, something interesting did happen. The only luck I had had since I left the Weasley house that morning. 

Professor McGonagall was drifting along the hallway, right in front of a large portrait of a fat woman. What kind of a picture was that, anyway? Very suspicious. The old bird saw me, of course. I stopped in a dead panic and gawked at her. "Uhh…"'

She glared at me in the dimly lit hallway. "Finnegan, what are you doing out of bed? And with your trunk, no less!"

I froze. Was she off her bat?

She glowered at me. "Wearing those sunglasses again, in the middle of the night? Honestly. Get to bed!" So this wasn't that odd? Gryffindor must be a rowdy house…

She thought I was Seamus Finnegan? Well, it _was_ dark and late, plus I had my hood on which covered my whitish hair. I stood on my tiptoes to look taller. "Um, I forgot the password to get inside," I said in my best Irish accent.

She shook her head. "It's 'Whirligig'. Honestly, for a 5th year…" She trailed off, obviously tired and not in the mood to deal with me. "Hurry up and get inside. The Fat Lady is getting tired of being disturbed." She stalked off.

What incredible and bizarre luck! I dragged my trunk over to stand in front of the portrait. "Er…I'm Seamus Finnegan! In my sunglasses and…such. Um, Whirligig!"

The Fat Lady yawned and the portrait swung open, revealing a hole. Oh, I was so near to my friends! I shoved my trunk through the dark common room until I hit a staircase. "Uh oh…well…" I pushed the trunk under a large armchair for the night and took a guess on the staircase, since there were two of them. I went up the one and opened the door that read "4th Years". I pulled aside the curtains on the first four-poster I came to and ended up leaning over Colin Creevy. I jumped back and knocked into the bedpost with my head. "Owww!"

The kid opened his eyes and looked at me, blinking. It took him about thirty seconds to open his mouth and start to scream. But by then I was tearing down the staircase and running through the dim common room, hopping oddly shaped objects. I ran up the other staircase, praying that there would be _girls_ on this side. I dove inside the 4th Year room and shut the door behind me, breathing like mad. The little creep would probably find some way to get me in trouble for this. Maybe they would think he dreamt it. I'm sure they didn't believe everything the little twerp said…

I started to pull the curtains aside on the beds and gazed down at several young girls. Young girls who didn't know me and didn't want to know me, especially in the middle of the night in their dorm room. Where was Ginny? 

I finally tried the bed by the window and pulled the curtains aside. There was my girl, lying on her side, fast asleep. I knew I shouldn't be there, but the bed looked so warm and inviting. 

I was hit with a terrible fatigue as I crawled in next to her, stripping off my robes. I curled up next to her under the covers and lay my head on the pillow next to hers. I was asleep almost immediately. The next day, I would be leaving there, and hopefully Ginny would go with me. 

*********************************************************************


	5. In Trouble

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Five

In Trouble

*********************************************************************

Things just progressed even worse from there. Apparently, Colin Creevy went running to McGonagall's room first thing the next morning and practically broke the door down. He blabbed on about how Draco Malfoy was in his room and that I had tried to kill him. McGonagall was very skeptical about this, but needless to say she went to get Professor Snape up. They looked in my Slytherin dorm and found a bunch of broken beds and kids sleeping on the floor, but no me. My 'friends' told the two of them that I had wrecked the room and practically killed them. Now I was responsible for the near deaths of about six people. Needless to say, I was in some deep trouble now.

My first conscious thought was the fact that I was being yanked out of bed by my arm. "Malfoy, get up!"

"Mmm…what?" Ginny murmured sleepily next to me. 

"Young man, wake up!" The voice was sharp. It was Professor McGonagall. 

I practically jumped out of my skin, my heart pounding. "Professor! I…er…"

"Mr. Malfoy, you are in a girl's dorm in a girl's bed! You have no idea how much trouble you're in!" 

"Well…she _is _my girlfriend," I said weakly. 

"That's no excuse! She then pulled Ginny out of bed. "And you, young lady, what on earth are you thinking?"

"What, I just woke up! I didn't know he was here, honest! We didn't do anything, I was asleep, I swear, I…" her voice drifted off as McGonagall pulled her out of the room by her ear. Now I was going to be blamed for a seventh almost-murder. Ginny's. If McGonagall didn't kill her, her parents would. 

I threw on my robes as fast as I could and stumbled out of the room and down the winding stone stairs. As I emerged into the common room, I was met with laughter on all sides. The entire house of Gryffindor was standing there in pajamas, laughing at me. My trunk was sitting in the middle of the room, my little nameplate shining in the rising sun which streamed through the windows. So they had known I was up there before McGonagall even did. My trunk was a dead giveaway. Several seventh year boys were sitting on top of it, laughing uproariously. This was a grand hour for the Gryffindors, seeing one of the mighty Slytherins so low and cast out. 

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were standing in one of the corners, looking at me sadly. At least they weren't laughing. I looked at them, my eyes flaring. It was all their fault that this happened to me. Being friends with them had lost me my Slytherin friends. They made the Slytherins laugh at me. And now the Gryffindors were laughing too. Everyone was laughing. I bared my teeth at them.

Hermione stepped towards me. "Draco?" she mouthed, a confused look on her face. I shook my head and took a step back. 

"It's all YOUR fault," I muttered. I suddenly screamed. "YOUR FAULT, POTTER!"

His eyebrows shot right up and he adjusted his glasses. "Draco…I…"

"Your fault!" I had to get out of there. I had to get away. They were laughing at me. They thought I was funny. No one laughs at Draco Malfoy. No one! Not my father, not the teachers, not the students…no one! I pulled out my wand and shot fireworks at them all. The sparks exploded in their faces, causing them to cry out and cower to the floor. I took off running and flew out of the common room like the devil was on my heels. I pounded through the castle, knocking over everything I could. Stone statues, suits of armor, torches, Peeves the Poltergeist…nothing escaped my rage. I could not find acceptance anywhere, from anyone. Damn them!! I used my wand to blast a door right off its hinges. Every little blast took away a bit of the hurt I felt. 

"Malfoy, stop immediately!" McGonagall was coming after me. 

"Forget it!" I yelled. I ran faster, plowing Professor Flitwick over in my mad scramble. I toppled but was up and running again before McGonagall could catch me. If I was going down, I was taking everyone in this school with me!

I was almost to the front door when Professor Dumbledore cut me off. "Draco, stop this!" I had never heard him so firm. I screamed wildly at him and turned the other way. He was my enemy too. He was laughing at me! They all were! Oh, I never should have come here.

I ran down the familiar corridor to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I had to get in. I had to hide. I dropped down and slid over the wet tile on my knees. I rapped on the bronze tap with the snake on it. "It's Draco, open up! _Please_ open up!" But it wouldn't. I wasn't a parselmouth. So I decided to blast it apart. A bright light slammed against the sink and it shattered. It left a hole in the wall. I wasn't sure if I could get down to the Chamber of Secrets this way, but I could at least try. I shoved my body into the hole but was stopped by a pair of hands holding onto my feet.

"Draco, no!"

I kicked. "Leave me alone, or I'll kill you, I swear! Stop laughing at me!!"

"No one is laughing." The cold voice was Snape's, but I imagined it was my father. 

"Let me go, father! I'll kill you! I'll KILL you!" I swung a hand back to smack him.

He caught my hand and pulled me out. "Come on, Draco. Pull it together. Let's go to my office." He physically contained me and pulled the wand out of my hand. "I think you've done enough damage to the school for one day…"

I kept a steely glare on my face as he led me along, his cloak wrapped around me so that I was shielded from the students who stared. This I was glad for. I kept hearing whispers about how Draco had snapped and tried to kill everyone, how he had tried to blow up the school because he was disturbed while he was with a girl, how his father beats him so he's crazy, how no one really likes him. I covered my ears with my hands and whimpered. I couldn't stand it. 

In Snape's office, he had me lie on a couch, and I curled up into a little ball. I had known I didn't want to go back to Hogwarts and I wish I had never consented to it. I knew the Slytherins wouldn't understand me being with Ginny, or my alliance with the Gryffindor Dream Team. Don't the teachers see that I had to destroy things? I had to show them I wasn't weak, that they couldn't laugh at me and get away with it. 

*****

I walked into the big primary school for magic children, clinging to my mother's hand. I was nine-years-old and I was shy and quiet and scared. I didn't want her to leave, but she kissed my cheek and left. She _left_ me there. And the children in my class teased me. They said that I was scrawny and sick looking and my eyes were too big and my hair was too white. They teased me because I was wearing short pants and a little tie that my father thought were distinguished and they were all able to wear regular Muggle clothes. They teased me and said that I would never be able to do magic when I was older because I was too small and dumb. I wasn't dumb…I was just quiet. And they laughed at me. They _laughed_. And I swore no one would ever laugh at me again. So at recess, I showed them all just how powerful I could be. I sent snakes after them, and they never laughed at me again. And I was the way I am from then on. I was Draco Malfoy, the best, the boy no one dared laugh at. And Hogwarts will pay for laughing at me.

*****

"Draco…snap out of it."

I flinched and looked up at Snape who was shaking my shoulder. "What?"

"You were staring at the torch flame, and you had a maniacal smile on your face."

I shrugged. "Maybe I'm crazy."

"You're not crazy. But you're angry." He swept around the room, collecting things for the first potions class. "And what are we going to do about that?"

"I'm leaving. I'm going to pick up Ginny and then I'm leaving."

"And where do you plan to go?"

"I don't know. Anywhere." I sniffed. "What does it matter? Anywhere but here, where everyone hates me."

He kneeled down in front of me and flicked a lock of hair out of my eyes. "Maybe you _should_ go somewhere else, take a little break from this. You don't seem fully ready to be here yet. You can't be here at Hogwarts if you're going to be destructive, Draco. And I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Why did everyone hate Snape so much? All you had to do was talk to him to know that he was a decent chap. He was always so fair with me. But I guess it was because I was…formerly…a Slytherin. This made me upset at him. I pushed him away. "How come you're only nice to the Slytherins? What have they ever done that was so great?"

He sighed. "We are talking about you, not me. Don't change the subject. What are we going to do with _you_?" 

"You could just drown me." I shrugged sulkily.

"Oh, as much as I would like to, I doubt Professor Dumbledore would approve of that." He cracked a smile at me. "He did, however, suggest that you live at home and take your courses by correspondence though the mail. We will Owl you your lessons every day. It will be difficult, but you can still keep up with your studies."

"So I'm expelled?" My heart sank. I was so angry with everyone, but actually leaving school made me feel so separated from the others, even more than I was already.

"Not expelled. But suspended until you feel ready to come back and not cause any problems." I hung my head at this, and he lifted my chin. "Draco…you can be the strongest wizard, the strongest man and still have a hard spell. Give this a try. Live at home for a bit."

I suddenly panicked and clutched at Snape's shoulders in terror. "No! No!! I can't go home! Don't send me home, don't send me home!!"

He grabbed my arms and his eyes bore into mine. "Draco, why can't you go home?"

"My father!" I sobbed. "Don't send me back to him!" All my strength was gone. I was nothing but a crying, simpering little weasel. And I didn't give a damn. 

"All right, relax. Professor Dumbledore and I will think of something." 

Dumbledore came into the office a little later and the three of us decided that I would be sent to live in a small flat in London. The flat belonged to Snape, although he rarely used it. It was protected by powerful magic, so no one could break in there, thus I would be completely safe. Anyone whom I didn't let in couldn't get in. I would be sent an owl every day with the day's lessons so I could keep up with my magical studies, and I would send my homework back later that night. Not only that, but there would be a stationary Portkey from Hogwarts to Snape's flat so that my friends could visit with me after dinner as long as they were back before midnight. I was thrilled. This would be perfect for me. I just couldn't take the students right then, and now I could just surround myself with people I liked and who liked me. And more importantly, my father couldn't get to me unless I let him in. 

Once things seemed settled, Snape told me that if I wrecked his flat, he would kill me himself and do the Dark Lord a favor. I laughed and sighed with relief. When I felt ready, I would be back and I would be stronger than ever. They wouldn't laugh when I made my triumphant return. Then I would show them all up for ever laughing at me. 

*********************************************************************

__

Note: Whew, okay! Thanks for all the nice reviews people have given me so far! I know thus far it's just been Draco going a little nuts, but I've been having a very hard time formulating a plot for this story. Honestly, I had nothing for him to do at Hogwarts at this point. But I think now I've got it! Now that I've got Draco out of Hogwarts the main action can begin. I hope the little flashback helped to clarify why Draco was so afraid of everyone laughing at him. Elementary school can be traumatic for a kid! But can Draco get back his favor in the eyes of the Slytherins and still be friends with Harry Potter? What happens when someone moves in with Draco in Snape's flat? And Snape is nice, isn't he…lol Why is Lady Grizzy writing such an odd author's note? That's one question that even I don't know the answer to. LOL Anyway, I hope you all like this so far. :)


	6. Portkeys And Potter What Happens When 5...

Note: Hey! This next part is just a sort of feel-good chapter full of fun and mischief. Don't worry, everyone will get their dose of drama and terror, but for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy 5 unsupervised kids with nothing to do. Oh yes, if they seem out of character, if you've ever been to a sleepover you know how out of character you can get! Enjoy! __

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Six

Portkeys And Potter 

And

What Happens When 5 Kids Are Left In A Flat Unsupervised

*********************************************************************

That very afternoon, I was sitting in my new home on a soft green rug, soaking up the sun in front of two glass French doors that overlooked a busy street right in the heart of London. The flat wasn't that large, but it had a spacey living area, a small kitchen area, and two bedrooms with a full bath connecting them. I couldn't imagine Snape living there, but I suppose he must have had some sort of personal life at one time or another. The only thing that really reminded me of Snape was the color scheme, which was predominantly green. I loved every bit of it.

As soon as I arrived there (by Floo Powder - brrr…), I set about settling in. First I set up the Portkey in one of the closets. I had clutched it all the way there through various fireplaces and I was glad to be able to set it down. It was an old messed up shoe that one would not want to touch with a ten-foot pole. Its match was at school and I instructed that no one was to know about it except for Snape, Dumbledore, Ginny, and Harry-Ron-Hermione if they absolutely _must_. 

The Hogwarts Portkey was going to be hidden in Snape's classroom and no one went poking around in there if they could at all help it. In my opinion, I would be glad if someone dropped in, as long as they were welcome company.

Actually, I had my first visitor later that day. I had just received an owl from Hogwarts with the first day's lessons when two more owls arrived at the same time. The one was my beautiful eagle owl from home and the other was an ancient owl, Errol, the Weasley owl. He floundered into my lap and passed out, but my eagle owl dropped his letter and fled. "Hey, come back!" I yelled. But then I noticed what the letters were. They were both bright red. "Howlers!!" Seemingly, my owl had been wise enough to evacuate.

I blanched and started to hyperventilate as the red beasts started to smoke. This was the last thing I needed. Suddenly, the one from the Weasleys exploded. The force threw me backwards and tossed poor Errol right out the open French doors. I wanted to go see if the poor old thing was dead on the balcony, but Mrs. Weasley's voice was so amplified that I was stunned by sound-waves. Then the other one exploded and my father's voice filled the room. I cowered and covered my ears. The Cruciatus Curse was better than this!

When Harry arrived in the closet he found me lying on the floor with my ears covered, bits of red paper strewn around me. "Howlers?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"Shut up, Potter."

He knelt down and started to pick up the pieces of paper. "Draco…look, I'm sorry if I'm the one who got you in so much trouble with the Slytherins."

I shook my head. "Forget it. They're just ignorant. And if they won't accept Ginny and me, then I don't want to be near them anyway."

Harry flinched when I mentioned Ginny. What was up with him? "Speaking of Ginny, she should be along soon. She wants to bring you dinner."

"Good thing. There's some strange device over there that's supposed to cook things, but I don't have the faintest clue how it works."

Harry burst out laughing. "That's a microwave."

I glared. "Shut it, Potter. I'm not a Muggle."

Still laughing, he noticed the French doors. "Ooh, a balcony!" He ran through the doors and yelped. "Hey, there's something dead out here! Errol?" He came back inside, carrying the pile of feathers that was once an owl.

"Oh, he's not dead. At least not yet. But I think Mrs. Weasley's voice almost did him in."

"I know, Ron got a Howler on the first day of his second year."

"Now I know who I rank with…" I grumbled. "So what are you doing here anyway?"

"What, is ickle Draco not happy to see me?" He was obviously in a very giddy type of mood.

"Oh, I'm _delighted_ to see you Harry. Why don't you make yourself comfortable on the sofa while I make you up a lovely drink of tea and arsenic?" 

"Can't wait." He flopped over on the sofa and placed Errol on a pillow. "So, this place belongs to Snape? I can't believe it."

"Neither can I." I brought him a cup of tea, minus the arsenic. I had supposedly almost killed enough people, and killing Harry would make me look even worse off than I already was. I grinned at my deliciously evil thoughts. "Honestly, did you miss me so much that you're already here?"

"Oh _yes_. Certainly. And we decided that we would all do our homework over here tonight, with you…you know, in case you have any questions." 

I humphed, but was secretly glad since I wasn't always the brightest student. I didn't like applying myself all the time. "And Ginny didn't get in trouble?"

"Professor McGonagall believed that it was all your fault, so nothing happened to Ginny. She was just given a warning not to get any ideas about having young men sleeping in her room until she was at least eighteen." Harry snorted with laughter. "I thought it was all a jolly good show…Ginny's scolding, I mean. But we were so scared when you went wild, Draco. I'm glad Ginny didn't have to see it."

I was too. I hadn't planned on blasting the Gryffindors or running rampant through the castle, but these things just seemed to happen to me when I lost my temper. I would have to try to watch it. I changed the subject. "So then…want to play with the tele-thingy?"

Harry raised his eyebrows and snickered. "Git…"

*****

Later that night, five of us sat around on the green rug (dubbed affectionately the 'Snape Rug'), doing our homework. At least Hermione was, and I think Ginny was trying to. But the rest of us were pretending more than doing since we couldn't shut up. 

"Are you sure you're supposed to be staying here? Snape was meaner than ever today." Harry glared at me and pointed his finger at me sharply. "Potter! Even less intelligent than last year, eh? How…_disappointing_. 10 points from Gryffindor! Parkinson, you're dumb as a _brick_, but you're in my house. 50 points for Slytherin!" He gave me a calculating smile, which was so good, I started to crack up.

"Would you all please shut up?" Hermione whimpered. "I'm trying to explain this to Ginny and you lot are acting like…"

"Boys?" I offered. Ron tossed a marshmallow at me and it bounced off my head.

Hermione sighed. "Yes. Yes, quite."

Ginny was lying over her parchment, her quill in her mouth. "Hey, Ron? What do you think is a good prediction for Divination? I'm supposed to be reading a…sweaty gym sock…or something."

I keeled over laughing. We were so gone.

Ron answered through his tears of laughter. "We read our futures from sweaty gym socks last year…"

"This I believe," Hermione whispered.

"…So, Ginny, studying my sock right now, I would be willing to predict that Draco will be hit with a stray comet as soon as he leaves the flat."

Hermione hid a smile and Ginny laughed uproariously. "I'm actually going to put that!"

"Professor Trelawny would love to see me hit with a comet, I promise you." I had just managed to pull the prediction that we were going to be killed by rabid wolves out of looking at a future-telling feather for 5th year Divination. "There has to be a better way to spend time than doing _this_." I jumped up onto the coffee table. "Time for a Pantomime!"

Hermione's head shot up. "A _what_?" 

I just batted my eyes at her and grabbed for my wand. I tapped it on my head and I was instantly draped in a black cloak with green trim. I glared at the lot of them and made that same evil smile that Slytherin's are known for. "Who am I, Potter? Don't know? 200 points from Gryffindor!!"

Harry shook his head. "Too easy!"

"He likes _me_," bragged Ginny. 

"Who wouldn't like you, Ginny?"

I spoke in a deep menacing voice. "Oh yessss…we _all_ love Ginny." I reached down and grabbed her hands and pulled her up onto the table. I planted my lips over hers.

"Ew! Ew! Ewwwwwww!" Ron screamed, pretending I was Snape. "That's just sick!!"

"Cut it out, this place might be bugged!" cried Hermione.

Harry was glowering at me for reasons unknown.

I released Ginny. "All right, who's next?"

Harry shook his head as if to clear it. "Oh, I'll go." He stepped up on the table and tapped his wand on his head. He was then clothed in a bright violet cloak, covered with silver stars. He had a mirror in his hand and he looked in it, giving himself a brilliant smile. He was smiling so hard that I was afraid his face was going to crack.

I winced. "Oh no…it's…"

Hermione nudged Ginny. "Swooning time!" She tossed aside her Arithmancy parchment and she and Ginny grabbed hold of Harry's feet. "Oh, Professor Lockhart, you are just _soooo_ sexy!" 

Ron blushed a bright red. "Hermione!"

"Well…he was, but he was too stupid to forgive."

"Nice to see you getting into it, Granger." I gave her a lovely Malfoy smirk. "But I think we've had enough of Lockhart, don't you think?" I hopped up on the table and Harry and I pretended to have a duel with our wands until he tipped himself off the table.

"Woe is me, I am such a dead git! You're too much for me, Severus! Oh, woe."

Ginny threw herself onto Harry's body. "OH!!" she cried. "OH, poor handsome Professor Lockhart! Kiss my lips so that I may have the greatest experience a young woman could have before I die!"

Harry laughed nervously and kissed her quickly. Good thing too, if he kissed her for real, I would kill him.

Hermione hopped up on the table, tapped her head and she soon sported some multi-colored robes and a pair of thick glasses that made her eyes huge. "Why didn't you just borrow Harry's?" I asked.

"Shut up, Draco." Harry adjusted his glasses indignantly.

Hermione squinted down at us. "Behold, a speck of dust. The stars sent me this speck of dust and the fate of the future will be determined by what this SPECK OF DUST tells you. Mr. Potter…oh HORRORS! The speck of dust has just informed me that you will be dying a horrible death tomorrow. Why, you'll be drawn and quartered and then fed to Fluffy! Poor, poor child. So brave. So…_tragic_!" Hermione collapsed on the table in a mock faint. 

Harry cackled. "Remember, she did predict that Voldemort was coming back. You have to give her that."

'Professor Trelawny' opened her eyes and gave a sniff. "Well, you have to admit she's mostly a fraud."

Ginny threw a sock at Hermione. "My turn!" She didn't do anything with her wand, but crawled around, arching her body like a cat. She looked at Ron and hissed. "Sssssssstudent out at niiiiiight!" She meowed and leapt at Ron, latching her teeth onto his leg. 

He yelled out and then looked at us all with annoyance. "And she used to do this all the time when she was little…OW, hey, not so hard! I'm just joking!"

"_I_ think it's kinky." That came from me, of course. "Mrs. Norris never looked quite so good. Come bite _my_ leg, Ginny." 

"You're _horrible_!" Hermione scolded. 

"I'm next." Ron detached his little sister from his leg and climbed up on the table. He grabbed for Harry's wand and tapped it on his head. Suddenly, a Dementor stood before us and not Ron. Ginny screamed involuntarily. 

"That is you in there, right Ron?" Harry asked, his voice quavering a bit. 

Ron lifted the hood slightly and winked at us before dropping it again. He lifted his hand and pointed at me, as he made his breath rattle. He was _scary_. He advanced on me.

"Hey…stay back, there!" He suddenly grabbed me and pretended to plant a huge kiss on me. "Arrrrrrg!!" I yelled.

Ron fell away, laughing and looked at the shocked faces around him.

"Oh my god…that's definitely the best!" Harry's mouth was hanging open. "Ron definitely wins the Pantomime."

I, meanwhile, pretended to be dead on the floor. "Need air…Weasley Kiss Of Death…need…soap!"

Ron nudged me with his foot. "Draco helped."

There was applause all around and our costumes vanished with a spell from Harry. Ginny suddenly looked at her watch and cried out. "It's eleven-forty-five. Snape will kill us if we're not back by midnight. We're not supposed to be here any later than midnight." 

"Plus, we don't want to see Snape at night. I would hate to think what that hair of his does," Ron added.

"Snape Bed-Head…scary." Harry laughed and gathered together his things. "We'll be back. Don't have too much fun without us."

"Don't worry." I yawned and collapsed on the couch. Ginny leaned over to kiss me. 

"Goodnight, sweetheart," she whispered.

"Sleep well." I wanted to go with her. But I was safer here and she would be back. I would get my life back together. As they all headed into the closet and disappeared by Portkey, I pulled a blanket over myself and fell into a deep sleep. Tomorrow is another day.

*********************************************************************


	7. Father Dearest And A New Friend

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Seven

Father Dearest And A New Friend

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One cold day in November, not long after Ginny's fourteenth birthday, I bundled up well in heavy dark denim jeans and a winter jacket and went for a walk outside. One of the nicest parts of staying at Snape's was the ability to go for a stroll in Muggle London whenever I felt like it. There was much about it that I didn't understand but I learned quickly now that I was exposed to it. There had been rough moments, of course. The programming of a video player practically had Harry and I at each other's wandpoints, but once we figured it out we were able to watch American cinema whenever we felt like it. Snape arrived in the closet to check on me, took one look at Harry and me, staring at the television with our mouths hanging open, rolled his eyes and promptly left again. Apparently, I was fine, in a matter of speaking, so he hadn't been back to see me since.

So one afternoon when I was bored with the television and my friends were in class, I decided to take an afternoon stroll. I walked along the street, pressing my nose up against store windows to gaze at all the Muggle things I could own if I wasn't a wizard. I even sent an owl to my mother that said: "Dear Mother – what I would like for Christmas is a green sports car and a blender. Thank you – your son, Draco." Harry thought it was perfectly ridiculous, but I thought they were reasonable requests.

On this particular day, I ran across a jewelry shop and pressed my hands and face right up to the window, admiring all of the beautiful jewels. Jewels I knew about…for instance, that girls love them. I sucked in my breath, summoning up all my courage, and marched into the store. I did a lot of looking, but not much Muggle buying. Harry had helped me buy the video player, since I didn't know how to use Muggle money.

I headed over to the counter and looked up at the tall elderly woman behind it. "Hello. I was wondering how you go about picking out a ring for a girl?"

She slid her glasses down her nose a bit and blinked at me. "A ring for a girl? Young people today, they start earlier and earlier…how old are you, love? About twelve?"

I bristled. "I'm _fifteen_!" 

She squinted at me. "Oh, sorry, honey."

I closed my eyes and thought, 'Can we get past the fact I'm short and get on with this?'

"What is her ring size, Hon?"

"What? I don't know…um…thirteen?" I guessed the first number that came into my mind, hoping it was close. 

"Those are pretty big fingers." She held up her pointer finger and thumb to demonstrate a size thirteen. 

That was _way_ too big. "Her fingers are like mine." I held up my slender pale hand.

"Oh, let's try a five and a half, then."

After a good deal of confusion and embarrassment on my part, I managed to come away from the shop with a beautiful little ring with a brilliant sapphire and two small diamonds in it. I slipped into a little alley and unpackaged it, slipping it on my finger, imagining what it would look like on Ginny's. I held out my hand in front of me and smiled. "It's so beautiful…it's the perfect Christmas gift." I immediately felt nervousness bubbling up in my stomach. I had never given a girl a really important, expensive gift. For her birthday, I had given Ginny a little tee shirt that said '_Honorary Slytherin_' on it, and a stuffed kitten that looked a good deal like Hermione's cat Crookshanks. They were fun gifts for a fun day, but for Christmas I wanted to do something very special. I sighed happily and stared at the ring. 

I had started to slide the ring off my finger to put it back in it's little box when I was clunked over the head. I sprawled on the pavement and the ring rolled away. "No!!" I grasped for it, but I was grabbed by my arms and slammed into the wall. I saw stars and pain rolled through my body. When I managed to get my eyes open, I stared in fuzzy terror at the dark cloaked figures standing in front of me. "G..Go away…I don't have a quarrel with you!" They were Death Eaters.

I could feel the largest one smile. "Don't worry, young Malfoy. We're just here to deliver a message to you." He drew back his arm and punched me firmly in the stomach. I howled in pain and dropped to my knees, clutching my middle. I was then hit hard on both my cheeks and then over my back. I dropped onto the ground face down, trying to keep my consciousness. The Death Eater glared down at me behind his mask. "We suggest you start acting more like a Malfoy, lest you risk being a disgrace to your father. We wouldn't want that, would we? I would rethink your present company if I were you…" He kicked me sharply in the side and I screamed.

A cold voice from the back of the pack carried to my ears, which now had blood in them. "Leave him. He's had enough."

"Father!" I gasped.

I heard footsteps approaching rapidly. "Disparate!" my father hissed and they were gone. The next moment, a pair of hands was running over my body.

"I don't think anything's broken…" The owner of the hands spoke.

"Who are you?" I moaned. 

"I'm Thomas." He kneeled down by me and looked at my face. He was older than me by a couple of years, with dark brown hair that fell in his eyes, a lot like mine. He had beautiful dark eyes and a striking smile. 

"Thomas what?" 

"I don't know…I'm an orphan and I've never had a last name. What's your name?"

"I'm Draco Malfoy." I looked around frantically. "I lost a ring. It was a very important ring. It was for Ginny…"

His eyes lit up. "Ginny?"

"Yes, my girlfriend." I crawled around on the ground, blood dripping from my nose. 

"Hold on there, chap. Let me see if I can help." The boy fished around in the alley and eventually held up the prize. "Is this it? It's beautiful!" 

"Oh yes, thank you!" I clutched the beloved ring. "Those bastards almost made me loose it."

He pulled me up to my feet and helped me along. "Where do you live? I'll help you get home. And who were those people in cloaks, anyway?" He gave me a puzzled look. "Who would want to beat up a kid? Some kind of cult?"

I didn't feel like lying. The worst that could happen was that he'd think I was mad and head for the hills. "They were wizards. Dark wizards."

"Wizards? Aren't they only make-believe?"

"Oh no, I'm a wizard too. It's hard to be believe, I know, but…it's true." I hung my head and expected him to call me a freak and run away.

Thomas's eyes widened, but he didn't seem afraid. "Really? I've always loved tales of wizards and witches! Ever since I was a child I have wished I could be magical. I always secretly hoped they existed." He studied me. "Draco isn't exactly a normal name, come to think of it."

"Mother always calls me her little dragon." 

"I like it. Better than boring old Thomas." 

Thomas and I went to the flat so I could get myself cleaned up. I was a real mess. During the walk back there, I learned that he had no idea who his parents were and didn't even have a place to go. He had run away from a Muggle orphanage because he was dubbed as being strange and no one liked him. I felt a certain companionship with him almost immediately since I had left school because of almost the same reasons. I thought it might be nice if he stayed with me in the flat, since neither of us had anywhere else to go or anything else to do. I wanted someone who didn't have to go home at midnight. 

Later, we lounged around on the 'Snape Rug', Thomas watching me cast little spells with my wand. I was wearing my Hogwarts robe for show. "So there's actually a school where they teach you all this stuff? That's so fabulous." He picked up my wand and studied it. "I wonder if you could teach me?"

"I would, but I think magic is something you have to be born with. If you're a Muggle, you're just stuck."

"I hate being a…Muggle…as you call it. I wish I was like you." He rested his dark head on his hand and gazed out the window at the twinkling lights of London. "And you said the others would be coming soon? They come every night?"

"Pretty much every night. We do our homework together and then act like goons till they have to leave." 

"And Ginny will be coming?" He picked up my favorite picture of Ginny, which I had placed on a table under an electric lamp. It was a wizard picture, so she waved at whoever looked at it. Thomas had been thrilled with the idea. "Who's that with her? The baby?"

"Oh, that's Nattie. Nathaniel, really. He's my boy."

Thomas's eyebrows went way up. "You and Ginny have a baby?"

"Well, not exactly. His real father is Lord Voldemort, the most evil wizard of all time. Nathaniel was supposed to be his heir to the Dark Forces." I told him the story of how it all happened and how Ginny and I came to be the surrogate parents of little Nathaniel. Thomas listened with wide eyes and his mouth open in awe.

"That's quite an adventure! I should like to meet this tiny little chap. He looks darling."

"Oh, he is. But he's full of trouble, just like I am. He's only about eight months old, though, so he can't really walk yet on his own. But he'll be into everything once he can move around well." I sighed. "I miss him a lot. He's with Ginny's parents." 

"Is he then? Will he be coming here at all?"

"I'm sure he will. Ginny will probably bring him."

"Wonderful." He ran a finger down the picture. "Nathaniel…" 

There was a sudden burst of light from the closet and Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny all came tumbling into the room at once. "I did NOT step on your foot! You stepped on mine!" "You did too step on my foot! Someone stepped on my foot! Ginny, did you step on my foot?" "Why do you always blame everything on me, Ron? I'll tell Mum! She'll send you a Howler!"

"Ahem!" I cleared my throat and they all gawked at Thomas, who bowed slightly. "This is Thomas…he's a Muggle boy who's very interested in magic. He's been waiting to meet you all day."

Hermione and Ron stood there, grinning with embarrassment and wonderment, and Harry stared at Thomas, his head cocked to the side slightly. Ginny, meanwhile, walked up to Thomas and looked up at him. "Hi…" She then lifted a hand and put it under his chin, tilting his head slightly. "Are you sure you're not a wizard?" She stuck out her tongue slightly in concentration. 

He smiled down at her and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. It's lovely to meet you, Ginny." He kissed her hand and she blushed.

Harry shook his head hard. "Er…nice to meet you. I'm Harry Potter and this is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Draco, a word?" 

The maniac pulled me into my bedroom and sat me on the bed. "Draco, do you think it's wise to be telling this boy all about us?"

"I think it is. He scared off a group of Death Eaters, including my father. They tried to kill me, see?" I showed him all my bruises.

"You _do_ look miserable. It was lucky he was there. But did you have to bring him here? What if he tells the Muggles about us? We'll get in trouble."

"Don't be such a prat, Harry. You've never cared much if you got in trouble. You've gotten too rigid."

"That was then. This is now. And you were supposed to be trouble-free this year too, remember?" 

How could I forget? "Look, give him a chance? He's just like me, except he's not magical like us. But he should be."

"And this coming from a boy who hates Muggles and Half-Bloods…" Harry crossed his arms and grinned. "Could it be the great Draco Malfoy is reforming?"

I jumped up and shoved him over on the bed. I laughed and ran from the room. "Me? Ha! Never!"

Despite some original resistance, everyone became used to Thomas's presence quite quickly. He was so funny and charming, it was hard not to like him. 

Thomas had no magical power of any kind, but he still tried as hard as he could to learn all about being a wizard. His favorite wizard subject was Potions, since that was one thing he could help me do. We would sit around every afternoon with my cauldron bubbling in the middle of the kitchen table and follow the instructions Professor Snape had sent for me. "Thomas, hand me the frog eyes, will you?"

Thomas ran his finger down the list of ingredients. "Draco, if you added enough of this spice, it would make a very powerful explosive."

I took the frog eyes and dumped them in the cauldron. "How do you know?"

"I took Muggle Chemistry."

"Oh…" I didn't really know what that meant, but I was sure it was a very useful course. 

Thomas's eyes suddenly took on a mischievous gleam. "You know, Draco…with my help, we could make a potion that would really give the Slytherins a 'bang' they would never forget….."

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	8. Preparations

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Eight

Preparations

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I think it was a very nice thing that Thomas was so good at Muggle Chemistry. The thought of giving the Slytherins something to think about made me feel all warm and sunny. So much for being good…sorry, Gin.

That night, we finished up my lessons for the day and sent my made-up Divination predictions, a transfigured flower, and a little vile of the potion by Express Owl back to Hogwarts. Once that was done, we rinsed out the cauldron and began a new potion, although Thomas knew a lot more about it than I did. He went out into London and came back with vile chemicals of all kinds. 

I looked at them all, my mouth open slightly. "Are we building a…a bomb?" 

"You could call it that."

"I don't want to blow up Hogwarts…just the Slytherins." 

"It will just be a small bomb."

This was purely amazing. A young boy's first bomb. It was a proud day for me.

I managed to get Harry and Ron into the action as well. Hermione said she didn't want to know what we were doing with my cauldron in Thomas's bedroom and that Ginny would have no part in it either. They were going to stay in the front room and do their homework and play with Crookshanks. If we wanted to blow up the Slytherin dorm, we could do it on our own time. 

We gents all liked Hermione dearly, but thought she could be so bloody boring when she wanted to. So we set about making the Muggle concoction in Thomas's room without the girls. However, Ginny was back and forth between the bedroom and the front room, and Hermione eventually gave up trying to keep her out of there. Ginny, for all her sweetness, wanted to see the Slytherins take a dive as well. She was scared nearly to death of Millicent Bulstrode and she didn't trust Pansy Parkinson any farther that she could throw her, so Ginny didn't mind getting a bit involved. 

The potion had to be brewed for many days for it to thicken. It was nearly Christmas by the time it was almost ready. As our little concoction bubbled merrily along, we tried to decide who was going to sneak into Hogwarts to plant the explosive. Hermione would have no part in it since she had "Head Girl hanging in the balance," but the rest of us all wanted to go. This presented a problem, as five of us could not fit underneath Harry's invisibility cloak. This required the use of a second cloak, which of course none of us had. We also had to figure out how to get into the Slytherin common room, and then how to deliver the explosives to the Slytherins and get out of there again without them knowing. It was sure to be quite a prank once we had all the bugs worked out.

Ginny and Ron began to work on the lack of invisibility cloaks right away. First off, we had a lovely row about it while debating who would be the ones to go when we thought we would just have Harry's.

"Ginny's too young. She shouldn't go anyway!"

"I'm not either, Ron!"

"Thomas should walk with Ron since they're both so tall. Why not let them go? It will be proportionally accurate." 

"Forget it, Brainiac. _I_ am going! _I'm_ the Slytherin!"

"You and Ginny should be under the same cloak, then. You're the short ones."

"Shut up, Weasley."

"Well, don't count me out! It's _my_ cloak!" 

"Shut it, Potter."

"Please everyone, don't argue. I would go myself if I could."

"But you don't know Hogwarts, Thomas."

"And even so, we all want to go!"

"You're all a bunch of ninnies!" Hermione slammed her book down and glared as us. "Why don't you just find another cloak and you can all go! Bugger…" she muttered.

Thus another one of Hermione's great ideas was born. Ron and Ginny composed a note immediately that read, "PLEASE PASS ME AROUND" on the front, and inside said: "Dear Students: If anyone has an invisibility cloak which can be borrowed for an evening, please see the youngest weasels. A gift of three packets of Chocolate Frogs for the use of the cloak. Signed: R. & G. Weasel"

I rolled my eyes when I read the note. "This is your brilliant idea to get a cloak?"

They both shrugged. "You want to do better?" Ginny's eyes flashed. 

I held up my hands. "Okay, okay…and they'll know it's you?"

"Sure. They know everyone calls us Weasels. Who else did it more than you, Draco Darling?" Ron gave me a dark look.

"Er…yes. Well…" I patted him on the arm. "…brilliant note, old man."

The very next day, they left the note on someone's desk and the note was quickly passed from person to person, class to class, but luckily out of the teachers' reach. Soon the note had traveled through the three good houses. No one bothered to give it to a Slytherin. The Slytherins also knew who the "Weasels" were and they wouldn't have given them a cloak anyway.

Meanwhile, Thomas and I set about thinking of a way to get the bomb into the Slytherin common room without the idiots realizing it. We weren't having too much luck. On a chilly Saturday afternoon, Thomas had the potion all ready to go, and it bubbled black and angry in the cauldron. Thomas's bedroom smelled awful, so we were glad to be almost ready to wash out the cauldron.

Hermione marched into the bedroom, carrying a huge green box, wrapped up with a red bow. Since it was almost Christmas, she was dressed in a warm red sweater with huge white snowflakes on it. I figured it was a Weasley sweater, since Ron and Harry and Ginny all had sweaters that were almost identical to it. I eyed her now with amusement. "What's with the box, Herms? An early present for me?" I batted my eyelashes at her.

She gave me a wry smile. "_Hardly_. It's for your…explosive." 

I smirked. "A present for the potion? I'm sure it will be so thrilled."

"Draco! You're so infuriating! It's to put the potion in to deliver it to the Slytherins! _Honesty_!" 

"That's an awfully interesting idea."

"Muggles do it in mystery movies all the time. Bombs are always being delivered in pretty boxes and such." She placed it on the floor. 

I grinned at her. "Hermione, I think I'll kiss you."

"You're not serious!" She screamed and ran.

I took chase and tackled her and sat on her. "Merry Christmas, you boring old dame!" I ruffled up her rather bushy hair and went back to the bedroom.

"You're a freak, Malfoy!" She yelled after me, but her voice was full of laughter. The Christmas giddies were hitting fast.

We decided to make our move the very next evening. It would be Sunday and the Slytherins would be lounging around in their common room, unsuspecting and cheerful. We spent the rest of Saturday night pouring the potion into the box and putting magic spells on it so that it would explode as soon as someone opened the present.

Ginny was a bit worried as she stood over the potion, wisps of light radiating from her wand. "Draco, this won't kill them will it? We don't much want them to die, do we?"

"Of course not, little sprite. This potion, with a mixture of Muggle and magical ingredients will explode, throwing everything in the room about, and knocking the Slytherins into the walls. They will be quite blackened and their clothes will be singed and perhaps torn, but they'll live just fine. They won't really be hurt. They'll just have a lot to think about this Christmas as they try to clean the scorch marks off the walls of their dungeon."

"Delightful," Harry commented. He was up for it, at least.

"Basically, it works like a Muggle explosive, but the magic you all are putting in will prevent it from actually killing them." Thomas had a slight glint in his eyes, as if he might have wanted to kill them, but was too decent not to. He was horrified about what they had done to Ginny on the train. 

"Well, whatever it does, it ought to be a jolly good show!" I cackled. 

Ginny and Ron went back to school that evening, but came back later, toting a large invisibility cloak. "We've got one!!" Ginny yelled through the flat.

We came plummeting out of Thomas's bedroom and jumped around like idiots. At least we wouldn't have to argue anymore about who got to go along to see the explosion. "Whose is it?" Hermione asked sensibly. 

"It belongs to a large second year Hufflepuff," Ron explained. "He's a pretty big boy…that's why it's so large. I guess it was a gift from his grandmother who is a witch."

"I'm glad it's big," I said. "That way we can all fit comfortably. Even Hermione, if she wants to come along."

We all looked at Ginny, who knew her cue. There was no one who convinced people to do things better. "Oh, 'Mioneeeeee!" she sang, dancing over to her. She seated herself right on Hermione's lap and wrapped her arms around her neck. "Come with us, pretty please? I so much want you to come and hold my hand, in case I get frightened. It might be scary, a big explosion like that!"

"She's really scary when she does that," Ron muttered. "Been giving me the creeps for fourteen years."

I held back my laugher. She was so frighteningly appealing, there was no way Hermione could say no to this.

"Please Hermione? Please?" Ginny pressed her cheek against Hermione's.

"Oh…well…let's just _do_ it!" Hermione surrendered. She would be coming with us after all. This really was quite a feat. 

We camped out that night at my place, rather than having everyone go back to Hogwarts. We wanted to sleep in, so that we could stay up late the next night, which was sure to be high excitement.

That night, Snape came to check on us, since the castle had been mysteriously Potter and Weasley free all day. He appeared in the closet and glared at the lot of us, especially Thomas. "Who are you, boy?"

We were all tongue-tied, but Thomas stepped bravely forward. "Sir, I am a wizard from a school in America. I'm on vacation here in London. I met Draco one day while walking in the park and I've been keeping him company." He had a very good impression of an American accent, I must say.

Snape glared. "Mm. Mr. Malfoy, see if you can't refrain from bringing everyone you find into my flat, if you please?" But it seemed he was going to let Thomas stay. Maybe he could see that there was absolutely nothing threatening about Thomas, so what did it really matter? As for the rest of us, he glowered. "And what are the rest of you doing here? It's nearly in the middle of the night."

Ginny hugged a pillow. Of course, this was another job for her. "We're having a slumber party, Professor! Do you want to be our chaperone?"

The corners of his mouth suggested something that might be a smile. "As much _fun_ as that sounds like, I think I'll trust you to behave yourselves as if I were here. If I stop by later and see you all carrying on and such, you will have to suffer the consequences. Boys sleep in one room, and girls in the other. I will be back to check on you, that is a promise. You will all be in grave trouble if you disobey me. You too, Miss Weasley!" 

"Oh, we'll be ever so good, Professor Snape!" Ginny cooed.

He patted her awkwardly on the head and headed back to the closet portkey. I wondered if we frightened him, the lot of us sitting there on the sofa and floor, looking at him. He turned once more. "Oh yes…Potter, get your feet off my coffee table…five points from Gryffindor." And with that, he was gone, leaving Harry seething and me laughing.

" 'We'll be ever so good'? Did you seriously say that, Ginny?" Ron was laughing his head off.

"What, too thick?"

"Maybe a bit. But it was still brilliant, no matter how ridiculous it is!" 

When Snape came back at about two-o'clock before he went to bed, we were all passed out on the floor and the couch, the television flashing white and blue light in the darkness. He turned it off, pried a magic wand out of the sleeping Ginny's fist, and pulled a pillow off Ron's head to make sure he was still breathing. He then muttered something about 'damn kids' and left, stifling a yawn. Having regained consciousness for several moments to witness this, I slid Ginny across the floor like a large kitten and pulled a blanket over the both of us. I was out cold again in minutes. 

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	9. Thomas’s ‘Big Bang’ Theory

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Nine

Thomas's 'Big Bang' Theory

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Those of us on the floor woke up enough the next morning to drag ourselves into my bedroom and plop down wherever we fell, as long as it was on the bed. There was nothing worse than sleeping on the floor all night long, so those of us who had been unlucky enough to not get the couch (which was everyone except for Thomas) ended up in a big pile in my bed. Snape would have had a fit to walk in to see Harry sprawled out with his head resting on Ginny's tummy, Ginny's cheek resting against my arm, and Hermione practically _on top_ of Ron. Damn, they were a couple of nutters! At any rate, when we woke up, there was no doubt that we would all need naps after spending a rather uncomfortable night in general. Ginny said that was how sleepovers often went. 

Thomas burst in at about eleven, bright eyed and bushy tailed, so to speak. "Rise and shine!" We all groaned at him. He carried a tray of buns from a little café down the street. "Time to eat! Big night tonight!"

We wanted nothing but to go to sleep again. "You're just cheerful because _you_ had the couch!" I muttered. At any rate, somehow we woke up and started to cheerfully argue about who got to take their shower first, something else that would have made Snape's skin crawl, except that no one decided to shower together, thankfully enough. 

The rest of the day passed quickly, as we were bouncing off the walls with excitement when we weren't sleeping. Ginny kept pressing her face to the window and complaining, "Is it dark _yet_?" 

Hermione, playing 'mum', pulled her away and convinced her to have some dinner, but I knew she didn't much want to eat. My Ginny was an adventure girl!

At any rate, as soon as it was adequately dark and late, we set ourselves up. We pinned the two cloaks together, since it wouldn't do to have people under two separate cloaks, unable to see each other, banging into each other all over Hogwarts. That spelled disaster right there. So we pinned the cloaks together and lined up from left to right, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Me, Thomas, and Harry. Thomas carried the package, since he was the strongest and I was right in the middle to be the guide. Harry was under his own cloak since he was touchy about who used it, and Ginny was between Hermione and me so we could hold her hands to keep her from lagging behind since she couldn't move was fast as the rest of us. Ron was on Hermione's other side, and personally I think it was because Hermione wanted Ron to hold _her_ hand too. 

Despite how interesting it may sound, the setup really wasn't that grand. If any students should walk by, we would have to press against the wall in stealth, since the lot of us in a row would probably take up most of the smaller hallways near the Slytherin dungeon. But it was the only feasible way to make ourselves fairly undetectable, so we had to risk it.

We all stood around the portkey, Thomas clinging to the rather large box. It was rather cramped as we threw the cloak over our heads and prepared to touch the portkey. Thomas was very nervous. "I've never done this before."

"Of course you haven't," I said, "but there's nothing to be afraid of. All you do is lay a hand on the shoe and keep a tight hold on Harry's hand." I looked at the others on either side of me. "Ready?" I took the package from Thomas…he had enough to think about. Harry took his other hand and Hermione wrapped an arm around Ginny. Ron latched an arm around Hermione's waist and prepared to touch the portkey. "On three. One…Two…Three!" We reached out and were tugged away to Hogwarts.

We next appeared in Snape's classroom, in the pitch-blackness. I guess he figured no one would be using the portkey tonight if we hadn't already. Ginny gave a strangled cry and Hermione hugged her tighter. "It's all right, honey…it's just dark."

"I know it, I just don't like not being able to see!" she hissed.

"Okay, everyone, let's be quiet and make it out of the dungeons. It'll be lighter upstairs. Link arms and let's make our way along. Don't whimper, Ginny, it won't be dark for long. ("Honestly, I'm fine! Sheesh!") And don't step on my foot on purpose, Draco!!" Harry was taking charge.

"How could I step on your foot? Thomas is between us." I snapped. Of course, I _had_ stepped on his foot on purpose, but how could _he_ know that anyway!

We walked for some time, the passageways gradually getting lighter. "Professor Snape seems to like it dark and dismal," Thomas whispered. 

"He's like that," I answered. 

Of course, it never did get a lot lighter, since the Slytherin common room is practically in the dungeons. It wasn't quite as subterranean as Snape's class, but it wasn't much higher up. We approached the cement wall and lined up against it in our cloaks to make sure the coast was clear. Earlier that week, Harry had stood around outside the entrance in his cloak, waiting to hear a Slytherin say the password. No one wanted to do this, but they drew straws and lucky Harry won. So he stood for a good forty-five minutes until Pansy Parkinson came down to the common room after lunch and said the password, _Serpent_. Now as we stood outside the entrance to the Slytherin domain, I was praying that no one had changed the password since Harry heard it.

Now, pulling my little group along, we stood in front of the stone and I whispered, "Serpent!" We held our breath as the wall considered this, but finally opened for me. We all entered and congregated as quietly as we could in the little entryway as we peered into the main room. The entire Slytherin house was sitting lazily around the fire, some of them poking at it with sticks. They were a revolting lot. The sooner we blew up the unsuspecting bunch, the better! 

A bulky seventh year was telling them all a story about how he snidely pushed around a little first year Hufflepuff today. They were riveted…any tale of torture was enough to make them happy. Torture. Merry Christmas, _friends_. Here comes yours!

Thomas turned his head slightly and nodded at me. He stooped and set the package on the floor. He gave it a mighty shove and it sailed across the dungeon floor until it came to rest next to a little female whom I didn't know. "Oh! Look at this!" she cried

We silently cheered. The little girl had taken the bait. Crabbe and Goyle turned to look at the gift. They were greedy fellows. "What is it, Maude?"

"It's a pretty gift! And it's all mine!" The little girl hugged it tightly.

"Brat…" muttered Ginny. 

Hermione nodded.

Pansy stood up from her place by the fire like the regal bimbo she was. She was wearing a bright pink baby-doll nighty. I couldn't wait for that bomb to go off! "_Excuse_ me, but _I_ will open it, if you please. It's obviously for _me_!"

I had to give the little thing credit; she hung onto that gift and screeched like a banshee. "It's MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!!!!" She and Pansy played tug of war with it for a good amount of time, but Pansy finally managed to push the little first year over and grabbed the gift for herself. 

"It's quite obviously from one of my admirers. Someday, _Hon_, when you're as good-looking and popular as me, you will have a package - get it?" She settled herself down on the floor to open it, and the others gathered around to watch, having been seduced from the catfight and curiosity. We all hugged onto each other, braced for the explosion. I buried Ginny's head against my chest. It was showtime.

Pansy furiously ripped off the wrapping paper and yanked off the top expectantly. "Ooo…AHHHHH!" she screamed as there was a loud boom. The six of us under the cloak were pushed backwards by the intense shock wave that flew out, and were plastered against the doorway. When we got our eyes open, the main room was filled with smoke and there were Slytherins lying all over unconscious. Flames were raging on the green curtains and on the clothing of some of the bodies. I was shocked and I could tell Harry was too.

"They're going to die! They're not supposed to be dead! They're not even supposed to be unconscious!" I shouted. "What went wrong!"

Harry nudged Thomas. "Thomas?" Thomas was watching the flames burning, his eyes alight with what looked like fear…or interest. It was hard to tell, really. Harry edged around Thomas and stood next to me. "We have to get him out of here. He doesn't look good."

Before we could stop them, Ginny and Hermione ran forward from under the cloak and started to smack the fallen Slytherins with pillows to put the flames out of their robes and pajamas. 

"Come back, you'll get caught! They'll be here any second!" I cried. Ron was already pulling on my arm. If we were caught in here with the cloaks we were dead meat.

"Just go!" Hermione yelled.

"But, 'Mione!" yelled Ron. 

"Ron, GO!"

I grunted in frustration and we shoved open the stone door and ran into the hallway. Just as we plastered ourselves up against the wall, the teachers came belting around the corner and saw the door standing open and smoking. They rushed in and I heard McGonagall cry out, "Hermione! Ginny! What happened here?"

"Fetch Madam Pomfrey!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. 

"It was awful!" Hermione sobbed. "We had just come back from Draco's and we heard this huge explosion. We ran to see what it was, and the wall had blasted open and they were all on fire in here! We beat them with pillows until the fire was out of them, but it was so awful!" She was in hysterics. Ginny's sobbing just added to the illusion that they were innocent. And I could tell by their voices that they weren't acting. They were honestly scared to death. And so was I. What had gone wrong? 

"Ginny, come away from there! Hermione, where are the boys?"

"S..still back at D..Draco's."

"All right, you two, up to the Gryffindor tower and tell everyone else to stay there. You mustn't be in the way now."

Hermione grabbed Ginny's hand and they came rushing out of the room and down the hallway. Then they were gone. Meanwhile, we boys made hasty tracks back to Snape's room and grabbed onto the portkey. We were instantly back in the flat, and we wasted no time. We shoved the cloaks into Potter's trunk, flipped the telly on and threw ourselves on the couch. As soon as we heard Snape appear in the closet to make sure it wasn't our doing, we closed our eyes and pretended we were deeply asleep. We looked like a bunch of couchpotatoes, not a group of kids who just blew up the Slytherin common room, and half of the Slytherins with it. But my heart was beating a mile a minute and I could almost hear Harry's beating next to me. 

In a moment, Snape shook us by our arms to wake us up. "Potter, Weasley, get up. There has been an accident at Hogwarts and we need you two back there. No sleepover tonight. You have class tomorrow anyway, and you should be rested." 

I spoke for them, since I used to be something of a pathological liar. "Professor, what happened at Hogwarts?" I rubbed my eyes 'sleepily'. 

"There was an explosion in the Slytherin common room."

"Is everyone all right?" asked Thomas.

"They will all be fine, Mr…."

"Thomas."

"Fine…well, it's none of your concern. But I need these two to come back. We want everyone in their common rooms until we can figure out how the explosion was caused." He glared at Thomas and then at me. "You stay in, Draco, until I come back again."

I nodded. I certainly wasn't going to push it. Ron and Harry obediently went with Snape, but we knew we weren't in trouble. If anyone had blown up the Slytherins it would be me, not Harry and Ron. They didn't have much of a bone to pick with them anymore, but I certainly did. As I lay in bed that night, I couldn't figure out if I felt glee that they had all almost died, or if I felt terror welling up. Something had gone wrong with that potion, but what was it? Was it my fault? Or was it Thomas…?

*********************************************************************


	10. Ginny Afraid And Healed

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Ten

Ginny Afraid And Healed

*********************************************************************

Things have a way of working themselves out. Just when Harry and Ron and I thought we were done for, and that the girls were going down with us, everything turned out just fine. I heard the whole story from Ginny the next day. Classes had been canceled for a day so the Slytherins could have a stay in the hospital wing while their mild burns healed up. Since she had the whole day free, Ginny came to me and we were finally alone in the flat, which didn't happen very often. We curled up together on the sofa and she told me all about what had happened. 

"It's so bizarre, Draco. When the Slytherins all woke up again, they claimed they had been playing with exploding potions. They said it went wrong. Every one of them said so, Draco. Now isn't that just _odd_?" 

I thought about this. "Very odd. None of us put any kind of mind control or mind wiping spell in that potion. For them to all wake up and think it was their fault is quite odd indeed."

"So since the Slytherins admitted it was all their fault, the rest of the school wasn't even questioned. It's as if nothing even happened except that the whole Slytherin house is in the hospital wing and the common room is being sponged up. And we even got a free day out of it. Think of that!" She grinned at me.

"Yes, think of that…" I still couldn't believe it. It was too good to be true. And too strange.

Eventually, Ginny and I drifted off to sleep, still tired from the previous night.

I awoke later to the sound of terrified gasping. My eyes fell open and I saw Ginny clutched onto me as if she were dying, her mouth open in a silent scream. She was struggling to breathe, but nothing was coming out. "What! What's wrong?" I followed her gaze and saw that Thomas was standing over the sofa, looking down at us with the most perplexed expression on his face.

I took Ginny's head in my hands and forced her to look at me and not Thomas. "Ginny! Wake up!" I held her head firmly and locked my eyes on hers. "That's only Thomas! Stop this, please! You're scaring me!" I was frantic.

She gulped and tried to catch her breath. "A…bad dream I guess."

"Yes, only a bad dream." I gave Thomas a questioning look.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I just walked in the door and came over to see if you were asleep. I leaned over to check and Ginny was staring straight up at me. She started to hyperventilate. I didn't mean to scare her, honest!" He wrung his hands in a helpless gesture. 

"It's all right, Thomas. It's not your fault."

Ginny seemed calmer. "He just looked like someone from a bad dream for a minute. I was just startled." She managed to smile at our friend. "I really didn't mean to frighten you, Thomas."

He ran a hand through his brown hair. "Likewise." 

But was it more than that? Ginny didn't seem quite right to me. Her emotions seemed a bit out of whack, what with the whole stupid explosion plot, and some bad dreams she'd been having since I came to live in the flat. I had to do something about it. Perhaps the holidays would help us all. Plus, I had an idea. 

*****

Christmas was a blast, for once. Of course, it was always _nice_ when I was at home. I received piles of presents and there was a party and I always felt very important and special. I was ignored by my father in general, but my mother made it fun however she could.

This year, I received my usual loot from home, delivered by ten large owls, but my actual Christmas was spent with Ginny and the others. And it was the best one I can remember having. 

My favorite memory from the day was when Thomas had us all pile onto the sofa together and he took a Muggle photo of us with a little disposable camera. I had a Santa hat on my head and was scowling darkly at Ron who was belting out "Jingle Bells" with Hermione, who had had a bit too much Muggle Champagne. Ginny was practically sprawled on my lap, a look of the utmost delight on her face as she held out one small hand from which a sapphire ring sparkled on her finger. Harry was sitting behind us on the back of the sofa, holding up a brand new Firebolt II, his present from his godfather, grinning like a maniac. Little did he know that I had a brand new Firebolt II of my own sitting in on my bed. Now we were equal.

As I look back at the picture, it's lovely to see Ginny so very happy. As I have noted, she had been a bit nervous lately. Of course she hadn't quite seemed like a normal fourteen-year-old girl since the Chamber of Secrets incident last year, but she had become so withdrawn and nervous, especially when Thomas was around. What could possibly be wrong? But I realized what would help her and what would be the best thing for her to have.

I took the portkey back to Hogwarts that Christmas afternoon while my little group was knocked out on the Snape Rug after eating too much pudding. Since they were trying to recover before the feast and dance at Hogwarts that night (to which I was also attending), it was the perfect time for me to put my plan into action.

I appeared in the closet not long after, a happy little bundle in my arms. I set him upon the floor and whispered to him. "Go find Mumma. You know which one she is. Go find Mumma-Ginny!"

The little figure tottled across the room to the pile of sleeping kids. He quickly found his mum and crawled on top of her. "Gin Gin Gin!" 

Ginny woke with a start and gave a cry of delight. "Nattie!" Tears sprang to her eyes and she clutched hold of the little fellow. "I'll never leave you again, I promise! You simply must stay with me and Draco now."

I smiled softly. If Nathaniel made her happy, I would see to it that she was never separated from him again. I had arranged it all with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley so that we could keep Nathaniel with us in the flat. I even hired my old dear nurse to watch Nathaniel while Ginny and I were both in class. The Weasley's had been skeptical about my idea, but when they learned that their girl was curling up inside herself and becoming more and more withdrawn, they decided to give it a try. They saw remnants of First-Year Ginny reappearing in her mannerisms and her eyes. If Nathaniel could help focus her attention, so be it.

Everyone hugged and kissed and welcomed Nathaniel with lots of love. Thomas waited patiently, watching him with soft eyes. It was then time to introduce Nathaniel to our newest friend. "Thomas, this is Nathaniel Weasley-Malfoy…my brat." I smiled. And I would be such a better father to him than my father had been to me. There was nothing I wouldn't do for him. Nothing. 

Thomas approached him and placed a hand on his little tousled dark head. "Nathaniel. A good name for the child."

Ginny shivered slightly and scooped Nathaniel into her arms. "We'd better all get ready to go to Hogwarts. We don't want to be late for the feast and for Draco's big return." It was true, I was returning. When the Christmas holidays were over, I was going to return to studying at Hogwarts. I was going to continue to live at Snape's flat, but there was no reason why I shouldn't study in the school. The Slytherins had had enough trouble lately to worry much about me. 

Nathaniel clutched onto Ginny's hair and looked at Thomas with wide eyes. It was obvious my little family was very nervous around him, but I couldn't quite understand why. He was just a Muggle kid…besides, if he were some sort of delinquent he would have done something to us already. Robbed us blind or told Scotland Yard that we were practicing magic up here. But nothing of any kind had happened, except for a potion backfiring, which could have been caused by any number of things. Thomas had never been anything but delightful with any of us, so I couldn't understand why Ginny was so nervous around him. Harry was odd too, and spent a lot of time looking at Thomas and then whispering to Ginny. Apparently they couldn't figure it out either. 

*****

Despite how young and innocent Ginny seemed to be, she had quite a maternal instinct and it was as if she matured whenever she had someone to care for, which was the objective. I'm sure it's not highly recommended that fourteen-year-olds take care of tiny children, but Ginny was really remarkably good at it. That evening, she carried him into my room and set about pawing through his little diaper bag to find something warm to put him in. She pulled out a little pair of red overalls and a long sleeved white shirt and bundled him all up for Christmas dinner. 

I lounged on the bed, watching them dreamily. I wished we were older and he was really our child and we were a real family. But it was nice to pretend.

I played with Nathaniel's fingers and toes while Ginny dressed for Hogwarts in the bathroom. When she entered the bedroom again, I couldn't help but suck in my breath. Her violet robes were clingier this year, as she was filling out on top a little more obviously and growing more through the hips. I just had to gawk. "Wow."

She finished pulling up her hair and stood before me, one hand on her hip. "How do I look?"

I goggled. "What happened to that little girl I used to know? And who are you, you stunning thing?"

She smiled. "I _can_ look grownup when I feel like it, Draco." 

I gulped and held Nathaniel up. "Look at Mumma, Nattie. Doesn't she look _hot_?" 

She laughed and tugged on my hand. "Let's go…dinner and dancing awaits!" 

*********************************************************************


	11. A Hot And Cold Christmas Ball

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Eleven

A Hot And Cold Christmas Ball

*********************************************************************

It was strange returning to Hogwarts after being gone for so long. As I sat there at the Gryffindor table I received some very odd stares but also a good many smiles. Everyone thought that Nathaniel was absolutely adorable and they all wanted to hold him. After awhile, they seemed to forget that I was Draco Malfoy, cruel Slytherin, and just started to enjoy my company. This made me shy, but also rather pleased.

Even the Slytherins smiled faintly at me. I think the potion explosion had calmed their desire for revenge against me, and they were staying out of everyone's way. I smiled back, at least until I saw Pansy give me a terribly dark look. That was one Slytherin who wasn't going to let her anger go too easily. 

The rest of the evening at Hogwarts was like a dream. Fred and George took Nathaniel off to show him to all their friends, exclaiming loudly that, "He's going to be just like us!" Meanwhile, Ginny was eating some sweet cherries and looking very kissable. The third time she licked her lips at me, I was ready for the dance to start. Any excuse to get in the dark. 

"Let's get this show moving, then!" I cried out.

We were to go to our common rooms for about an hour while the Great Hall was fixed up for the Holiday Ball. Of course, there was no Tri-Wizard Tournament this year, but the Yule Ball had been so enjoyed by all that they simply had to have another Christmas dance. Personally, I think it was because Snape wanted to blast apart more bushes. 

Since there was absolutely no supervision at the time, the Gryffindor common room was a mad house. So much for boys not being allowed in girls' dorms - we were all back and forth and all over the place.

In fact, it seems that the Gryffindor fifth years all communed in Harry and Ron's dorm, including me and Ginny and Fred and George who brought in non-flammable firecrackers and promptly lit them all over the place. It was their last year and they were really going to live it up. The fireworks exploded with loud pops and multicolored lights. Ginny was very excited and hopped happily on Harry's bed. It was an hour well spent. 

Ginny and I took Nathaniel down to the infirmary to hand Nathaniel over to my nurse. It wouldn't do to have a baby at the Ball, and besides, it was past his bedtime. We kissed him goodnight and promised to pick him up after the dance was over. Then we departed for Harry's dorm once more to deliver my offering of the evening. 

As the Fifth Year Gryffindors gathered around, I pulled three bottles of Muggle champagne from my bookbag. "Ugh, no more…" Hermione rolled over on Ron's bed, pretending to be sick, after having just recovered from the bottle we had earlier.

As for everyone else, they were quite fascinated. Some of them came from Muggle families, but they hadn't much been allowed to drink champagne. "Our friend Thomas bought these for us in London using a…fake identification card or something of the sort."

Neville giggled, covering up his mouth with excitement.

"So I figured we could all have a little sip before the Ball."

I transfigured several small objects into glasses and we all sampled the champagne. Some of us had a little too much, I would say, including Ginny. It was very good, sweet and fruity and it was easy to have too much. I loved it, but didn't overdo it. Ginny, meanwhile, drank almost three glasses and in her small system this was quite a lot. Needless to say, we were all in a very good mood when it was time for the ball. 

*****

The Hall had been turned into a winter wonderland. It was even more spectacularly decorated than the year before. There were magic snowbanks all around the edges of the Hall, which were not cold to the touch and never melted. Magic snow of the same kind drifted from the starry ceiling but vanished when it hit the floor or the students. Music seemed to burst out of every crevice of the hall and everything was excitement and laughter and color. 

I grabbed Ginny and whipped her out onto the dance floor immediately. We had never gotten the chance to be together in public and we were going to flaunt it for all it was worth. Harry and the others were in excellent spirits and we danced like maniacs until we plopped down onto the snowbanks, exhausted.

"It's hot in here!" exclaimed Ginny. "Let's go outside?"

"Good idea. I'm absolutely sweltering." 

Harry was sitting on Ginny's other side, a giggling Lavender Brown perched on his lap, oddly enough. Champagne did the old man good. "I say, where are Ron and Hermione?"

"I don't know…weren't they here with us while we were dancing?" After scanning the room and seeing no glimpse of them I suppressed laughter. "All right, now we're really going outside."

Harry looked at me. "Do you think…?"

"I do. Grab her hand there, and let's go." Harry and I took Ginny's hands…she was a bit tipsy. The three of us headed out to the little magical garden they had set up again this year and we looked around. There we various couples strolling along through the shimmering bushes but Hermione and Ron were nowhere to be seen. "They must be in the bushes…let me go find Professor Snape."

"That's so mean! Leave them alone!" Ginny leaned against Harry and tried not to laugh. "They'll be so mad!"

"No, this will be good…" I left them to go find Snape. The dance was just getting good.

I came back, dragging Professor Snape with me. Harry and Ginny were still standing there, trying to keep straight faces. I pointed to the bushes. "There are students in those bushes, there, Professor! I just thought you'd like to know." I gave him a winning grin. 

Snape raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "And this concerns you because…?"

"I just thought you would like to know. You're so good at keeping order and such and it's _so_ important to the reputation of our school." 

He gave a dry laugh. "You're not fooling anyone, Mr. Malfoy." 

Still, the temptation of taking points away from the students was too much to resist. He took out his wand and sent a spark into the first bush. A pair of students fell out with an 'oof', their hair smoking slightly. "Ten points from Ravenclaw. Get moving." Snape was smiling. You could tell he loved this.

"What about that bush?" suggested Ginny.

He shot her a suspicious look and shook his head. He never could quite figure out what made Ginny tick. He sent a lovely bolt of magic into the bush and Ron and Hermione rolled out clasped in each other's arms, a very surprised look on their faces. Ginny gave a whoop of delight and tipped over onto her bum. Harry and I just gawked, incredulous looks on our faces. Colin Creevy showed up just in time to snap a picture.

Ron looked up from his place on top of Hermione. "Hi…" He gave us sheepish smiles.

Hermione raised a hand and kind of waved. "Heh…"

Snape frowned down at them and then looked at us. "This is what you all really wanted to see?"

I spoke. "Well…kind of." I held back gasps of laughter.

Snape rolled his eyes. "Twenty points from Gryffindor. Get up off the ground will you?" He stomped away, a look of wicked delight in his eyes as he approached the other bushes.

"I knew it! I knew it!" cried Ginny, crawling towards them. "My brother and Hermione…I knew it!"

"Quiet, Ginny." Ron climbed off of Hermione and pulled her up off the ground. "We just had too much to drink."

Hermione brushed herself off. "That's right…we're just tipsy."

Ron pulled Ginny up by her arm. "And you're flat drunk."

"So?" she giggled.

"So? Wait 'till Mum finds out. She'll kill you." 

"What, are you gonna tell? Don't be such a child, Ron." She whipped her hand at him and took my arm. "Come on, Love. I want to dance more."

I shrugged at them. "My woman knows what she wants."

"Your 'woman' is drunk." Ron glowered. 

"Relax Ron. We'll keep an eye on them." Harry smiled at him.

I snorted. Pretty Potter, always keeping an eye on me, as if I was going to kill Ginny. What connection did he think he had with Ginny anyway? Ginny was mine.

Hermione had had it, so she went up to bed, but the rest of us all danced some more, enjoying the music and lights and magical snow. Ginny gradually became more and more giddy and a bit more touchy-feely than usual. I tried not to make unnecessary noise and kept my eyes on Harry and Ron to make sure they didn't notice. They were taking turns dancing with various girls, and they seemed happy enough. Maybe I could get Ginny back to the flat without them really knowing. I needed several good minutes alone with her. I tugged on her arm. "My place. Let's go."

She nodded. "I'll go get Nattie. Meet you at Snape's classroom." She hurried off.

As I left the Hall and neared Snape's room, Harry and Ron caught up with me. "Where are you going? Where's Ginny?" Harry asked.

I smirked. "Wouldn't you boys like to know."

Ron grabbed my arm, remembering what a dirty little mind I had at times. "Don't touch her, understand, little git?"

Harry pulled us apart. "Stop that, don't fight. It's Christmas, we're supposed to be happy. But Draco…don't do anything you wouldn't normally. She's had too much champagne. Just put her to bed, please?"

"What, so you can sleep with her instead? I don't think so."

"Don't you dare!" Ron cried.

"Don't _you_ tell me what I can and can't do. I do what I want!" 

"Don't do it, Draco," Harry pleaded. 

I snorted at them and shoved Ron backwards. "Children…You just wish it were you. You can't get girls to put out." I was feeling nasty. 

Ron raised his hand to punch me, but Ginny appeared at that moment. She had Nathaniel clasped in her arms. Harry looked at her. "Ginny...."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You had years to crush on me, Harry. Come on, Draco." She headed into Snape's darkened classroom.

I looked back at the boys, Harry holding Ron back. I smiled with amusement. "I guess she's chosen, Harry-Boy. See you tomorrow, then!" I blew a fake kiss towards him and ran after Ginny. 

*****

As soon as we got back to the flat, Ginny tackled me. "Kiss me." 

I did for awhile, but I slowly started to come back to my senses. I was only a kid and I really couldn't do this. I felt awful about what I had said to the boys, and growing up too fast would just make everything worse. "Ginny...this won't work."

Ginny froze and pulled away from me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you need to go to bed."

Her lips trembled and her eyes took on a very dark look. "So you're going to treat me like a child too, are you?"

"Ginny, it's not like that."

"Just forget it. I don't care anymore. I'm just going to go." She wiped at her eyes.

"You don't have to leave." She was being irrational, but I hadn't stopped to think that she was also feeling vulnerable.

"No, I'm going to go. Just...Just stay away, Draco." She sniffled against embarrassed tears and ran out of my room. 

I ran out into the main room and caught her before she touched the portkey. "Ginny, I love you." I pressed her into a kiss. "You will come back, won't you?"

She shuddered, but nodded slightly. She was exhausted. "Yes." She suddenly went stiff and shivered. I turned my head and Thomas was standing there, his hair falling down in front of his face. Ginny couldn't catch her breath from fear. Trembling, she reached out and touched the portkey, vanishing from my grasp.

I glared at Thomas. "Did you have to come out right now? We were having a conversation!"

"I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

I shook my head, suddenly very exhausted. "Let's just go to bed. Everything's fine." I dragged myself back to my room and lifted Nathaniel from his bassinet and laid him next to me in bed. He smelled sweet and felt soft. I wrapped an arm around him. "Mumma will be back tomorrow. Don't worry about anything." I closed my eyes and lay there, not even bothering to undress. Things were uncomfortable with Ginny, but they were easily fixed. She would be fine after she slept and got the alcohol and adrenaline out of her system. But I had this sick feeling that something else was very wrong. I felt suddenly very uncomfortable. I could only imagine what tomorrow would bring.

*********************************************************************


	12. Horror

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Twelve

Horror

*********************************************************************

But Ginny did not come back the next day. Instead Hermione paid me an unexpected visit later that day for tea. I had spent the morning in my room with Nathaniel, recovering from the day-after-Christmas-blahs, so I was really quite pleased to see her.

Hermione and I sat at the table and had a spot of tea, while Nathaniel had a bottle of juice in his highchair, which had mysteriously appeared along with the rest of his things. And to think I had underestimated the Weasleys as a magical family.

Hermione and I talked about useless things until I decided to mention Ginny. "Herm, why didn't she come with you?" My voice was filled with pain.

"You mean Ginny? She's just feeling embarrassed." She sipped her tea. "But don't fret over it…I told her you wanted to see her. She's thinking it over right now."

"How did you know to tell her that?"

She laughed. "I just did."

"And where are the boys?"

"Oh, they're a bit mad at you right now. Seems as though you've been a bit of a prat, they said."

"Then why are you here?" I sulked.

She let Nathaniel play with her fingers. "Well, that's simple. I know you wouldn't hurt that girl for anything in the world. So I trust you." She shrugged and tried to reclaim her hand from the baby. "But Draco, those guys will come around. They always do. They steam around for awhile and then cool off again. And I'm dragging Ginny along here later tonight whether she likes it or not, so don't worry about that part. Believe me, she misses you like mad already. She stayed overnight in my dorm and I heard her say your name in her sleep."

I smiled. "I'm relieved."

She looked around the flat and whispered to me. "I'm not, I'm afraid. Ginny also called out another name in her sleep…Tom."

"Tom?"

"Yes. I don't know what it means exactly, a nightmare from her past? But she and Harry had a long talk this morning and they won't tell me what's going on. I'm getting scared, Draco. See if you can't figure out what's troubling them, will you?"

"Oh, it's probably just Harry coming onto my girlfriend again. I wouldn't worry too much." My voice was pure ice.

"Shut up for a minute, Draco. This is serious. Talk to Ginny. Promise me you'll talk to Ginny."

"All right, I promise! But I don't know if she'll tell me either if it has to do with Potter." I folded my arms and leaned back in my chair. "Thank you for coming over, Hermione. It's good to know that Ginny is okay." I looked at her with honest eyes. "I really do care about her."

She smiled. "I know you do, Draco. We'll see you later tonight, all right?"

"Right." She left and I settled down to feed Nathaniel his lunch. In-between dodging food bombs I tickled his tummy and told him old nursery rhymes that I heard Mrs. Weasley and Ginny tell him last summer. I wished with all my might that I could remember someone reading me rhymes. Well, my boy would know all of them and more.

That evening while it was still light out I was lying on the couch taking a nap, Nathaniel on my chest. I heard the whoosh from the portkey. "Mmm…Ginny?" I murmured. I was still stuck between sleeping and waking. 

"Not…quite…_Dracie_." 

My eyes flew open and focused blearily on the evil force that was glaring down at me. Well, evil so to speak…it was Pansy Parkinson. "What are you doing here?" I demanded. I struggled to sit up, clutching Nathaniel to my chest.

She looked around the room. "You never told me you had such a nice place here, Dracie. A regular little love-nest." 

"Shhh…you'll wake Nattie! It happens to belong to Snape. And he won't be happy you snuck in here."

She gave me a little grin. "Snape, huh? Kinky."

I rolled my eyes. "Would you just please leave?"

She walked over to me and in one smooth motion ripped the baby away from me. She cradled him against her chest and glared at me. "This should be my baby. I'm the one who really loves you!"

I was in a panic. Nathaniel's warmth was gone. I wanted him back. "You don't love anyone, Parkinson. Now, give him back this instant! He's not a toy!"

Nathaniel awoke at being handled roughly and he cried out. "Mumma!"

Pansy smiled. "Now isn't that sweet?"

"He wants Ginny! His _mother_." 

"Well, I guess it's just too bad that she's not here and I am, isn't it?"

I stood up and approached her. "How did you get here anyway?" I heard a noise from Thomas's room and my eyes darted in that direction for an instant.

"Oh, that stupid little Mudblood arrived by portkey while I was lurking around in Snape's room."

I smirked. "Losing your virginity in Snape's room were you? Now _that's_ kinky."

She smacked me and I reeled. I fell over onto the sofa with both my hands extended in case she dropped Nathaniel who was dangling like a ragdoll in her uncaring arms. "How _dare_ you!"

I glared at her. "Set…him…down!"

She shrugged. "Fine enough. You're the one I want anyway." She plopped Nathaniel on the floor. The little fellow yelped and crawled towards my bedroom. I stood to go after him but Pansy shoved me down again. "Think you're getting away that easily? No one betrays me and the Slytherins without suffering the consequences. You're no Slytherin anyway. You're only in that house because _Daddy_ is in with You-Know-Who! You're useless and everyone laughs at you."

"They don't laugh at me!" I yelled. Laughing. What if they were laughing?

"Oh, they do too! But I'm not laughing Dracie…I always loved you." She perched herself on my lap and tried to reach a hand down my shirt. Who taught girls this stuff?!

"What do you think you're doing?" I looked at her in disgust. "Get off me!" 

"Ha! Never! I _know_ you love me! Show me how much you love me."

I shoved her off and made a run for my bedroom to get Nathaniel. I had to get him and get out of there! She was purely insane!

"Stop! Don't leave me!" she screamed and leapt at me. She grabbed me around the feet and we both went sprawling. 

I heard a voice above me. "What is going on out here?" Thomas was leaning against the doorframe, an amused look on his face.

Pansy looked up at him too, an angry expression on her face. "And who are you, pretty boy?"

"Hmm…no one you really want to know." Thomas calmly lifted my wand from off a little table by the wall and pointed it at Pansy. "_Avada Kedavra_," he said blankly and the green light shot from my wand. It struck Pansy right in the chest and she fell backwards, stone dead.

"Oh God!" I screamed and knelt by her body. "You KILLED her!" I blinked at him. "HOW did you kill her?"

"Draco, you're really such a funny little chap! How do you _think_ I killed her?" He yawned. "She had a most annoying voice, don't you think?"

My mouth was open in horror and shock. "Thomas…"

"Oh yes, I must have forgotten to tell you. My friends often call me Tom. Tom Riddle, really, but it's such a _filthy_ name." 

I pulled at Pansy's dead body fruitlessly. "But…but…Harry and Ginny have both seen you! You can't be Tom Riddle! They would have known!"

"Well, the obvious way to get around that is to disguise myself, don't you think? Besides, I'm modernized. I look very little like what the Tom Riddle of fifty years ago did. A change of clothes, hair color and style, and way of speaking can work wonders, you know."

I tried again to hoist Pansy again, but she was just dead weight. Dead. "So, you're Voldemort."

"Of course I'm Voldemort! But I would much rather look like this, wouldn't you? I'm hardly detectable. Besides, I feel more alive than ever in this body, especially since I have so many lovely friends." He smiled almost happily. Maybe he liked being a teenager.

"Snape said you couldn't get in! No one can get in here! It's magically protected!" My voice was nearly a shriek. Dead Dead Dead.

"Unless you let someone in. And you let me right in, didn't you. Clever boy." He grinned at me. 

I edged towards my bedroom. "But you didn't kill us! You didn't do anything to us at all!"

He smiled at me. "If I wanted you all dead you would have been dead already. But honestly, I like you and I think I can use you. I can use the lot of you. Especially Ginny. Yes, she _is_ the special one, is she not?" 

"Bastard!" I sneered through my teeth. I looked down at Pansy. "I am taking Nathaniel and Pansy's body and I'm telling everyone about you! The Ministry of Magic will be swarming you in no time!" I looked up from Pansy at him and my breath caught in my throat. 

Tom was holding Nathaniel in his arms, cradling him. "You don't want to leave without him, do you? And I'm afraid he's staying with me. He _is_ mine after all. But thank you for looking after him. You may continue to look after him, in fact. And you will be good company for his mother. You won't resist me for long, don't you even worry about that."

I bristled.

"Ah, but I think Miss Virginia Weasley is on her way right now." He turned expectantly towards the closet with the portkey.

In a burst of light, Ginny flashed into the closet. "Draco, we have to get out of here now! Harry and I, we know who Thomas is! He's Tom Rid…" she almost ran right into Pansy's body and she screamed. She looked at Tom, saw he had Nathaniel and she screamed again, only this time in anger. "Tom! Put him down!"

He smiled at her. "Quiet, Ginny." He threw out a hand and she fell to the floor in a heap. I let Pansy go and ran to Ginny instead, but Tom was faster. He set Nathaniel on the floor and scooped up my little sprite in his arms.

Nathaniel clung onto Tom's leg and started to cry. He was reaching for Ginny, but couldn't get to her. My heart felt like it was going to explode.

Tom gave me a feisty look. "Catch me if you can!" Still holding Ginny, he flipped a Muggle coin at me and it landed at my feet. As soon as the coin hit the floor he was gone, with my baby and my Ginny. I let out a cry and hauled Pansy's body up into my arms. I was yelling for Harry before the portkey had even taken me back to Hogwarts.

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	13. The Mysterious Journey

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Thirteen

The Mysterious Journey

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Professor Snape found me collapsed in the hallway, crying, holding onto Pansy's body. She had become too heavy for me to carry and I had fallen. I had started to cry from the sheer misery of it. Snape gasped and pulled me off of her. "Draco, what happened?" He knelt down next to her and started feeling for a pulse. His face remained the same as always, but I could tell he was terrified.

"It was Tom Riddle!" I started to babble incoherently about Tom and Ginny and Nathaniel and Pansy, ending it all by screaming out for Harry.

"Draco, stay here and don't move, do you hear me?" Snape lifted Pansy's body and swept down the hall with her.

But I didn't stay. I ran like hell to the Gryffindor common room and burst in. "Harry!" I screamed before collapsing.

They were alone in the common room. Everyone else must have been celebrating the Christmas season elsewhere. 

Ron quirked an eyebrow at me from across the room, but Harry came over to me. "What happened?

"What is it? Where's Ginny?" Hermione was up in a flash. I rarely lost my composure and she knew it.

"Voldemort took her!" I tried to catch my breath.

"Again?" Hermione cried.

"I know, it's getting repetitive! But for some reason, he took her with him!" Why on earth did he do the same thing over and over again? It was getting really old. I expect that Ginny was becoming tired of being kidnapped. What a doof!

"I told her not to go to your place with Thomas being there. I told her!" Harry was furious.

"What? Thomas was Voldemort?!" Ron yanked on his robe in a hurry. 

"He was Tom Riddle! And I told her not to go!" Harry likewise prepared to go with me.

"Never mind that! We have to go save her!" I yelled.

"Didn't we just do this last summer?" Hermione unfolded her arms and pulled on her own robe. 

For as worried about Ginny and Nathaniel as we were, we were starting to get pretty fed up with Voldemort kidnapping our friends. It was getting ridiculous! Was Voldemort loosing his touch, or did he have some master plan? I was starting to think Ginny was just being used as a pawn. He had said, "Catch me if you can". I think we were supposed to follow him. But how?

We headed for my flat again right away. We wanted to look around the place before the Ministry made their way in there and tore everything up. Events from the previous summer replayed in my mind. We were disobeying the rules again, and Ginny's family would be all panicked again and my mother would be worried about me, as well as Hermione's parents and everyone who loves Harry. Did we really have to do all of this again for some villain who seemed to be clinging to his teenage roots? For someone who was supposed to be so terribly evil, he didn't have a great deal of imagination.

I really had to admire Ron, though. As soon as we had arrived in the closet, he took off into Tom's room and started trashing the place, searching for anything that might point to the whereabouts of Ginny. Ron was someone who I never considered to have a whole lot of brilliance, but when his family and friends were in trouble he really knew how to take charge of a situation. All arguments of the previous day were forgotten and we were a team again. It was us against the terror teen from hell and we had our work cut out for us. 

Hermione decided we had to let the adults know where we were going. "We need to write a note for the Ministry to find so they all know where we've gone."

"How sensible." I rolled my eyes. But I sat down to write a little something, just so they wouldn't worry too much. 

__

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Mother, Mr. Black, Ministry Blokes, Professor Snape, and any of you lot who care:

Voldemort has kidnapped Ginny and Nathaniel. Yes…again. We have gone to find them since we are the best cut out for it. You couldn't really destroy Voldemort, now could you, and we don't think there's any way to find Ginny unless we go. We're good at this sort of thing, you know. Some help would be appreciated, of course, but otherwise we'll see you lot as soon as we capture Voldemort and bring him on back to jolly old England.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Mister Draco Lucius Malfoy, Esquire. 

Harry read over the note and tossed it onto the table. "Well, one can certainly tell you wrote it…"

"Shut up, Potter. Did you find anything?"

"Nothing! He has absolutely nothing in his room that would lead anyone to believe that he's anything more than a normal Muggle boy. If only Ginny and I could have figured it out sooner. And the dreadful thing is, we _knew_. As soon as we saw him we knew we had seen him before! But it didn't quite snap in. He was just so…nice." Harry shrugged and bit his lip, turning away.

"Look, old man, he fooled the lot of us. But he couldn't have just told me to catch him, as if he wanted me to follow him, and then not give us some way to do it. He said he wanted us all."

Hermione studied the ceiling. "But I wonder what we have to offer him?"

It was my turn to shrug. "Company? He seems to like being a teenager. He seems almost…happy-like." 

Ron had emerged from the bedroom where he had been banging the walls in frustration. His attention focused on a shiny object on the floor. "What's that?"

Harry looked. "It's just a Muggle coin." He bent down and reached his hand out to pick it up. As soon as his fingers grasped the coin, he vanished into thin air, his wand clattering to the ground next to mine where Tom had dropped it. 

Ron yelled out and jumped back from it. "Harry!" 

Hermione cried out. "It has to be some sort of teleport! Where did this come from?" 

"Tom flicked it at me when he disappeared with Ginny and Nattie! I thought it was just a coin!" I looked at it in fascination. 

"Draco, you're such a git! Why didn't you tell us?" Hermione bent over and picked up Harry's wand. 

"Excuse me, Dr. Granger, but I'm not as good at this hero and rescue stuff as you are! Get over it!"

Ron cracked a smile. 

Hermione rolled her eyes and tossed me my wand next. "We'd better hurry. We don't know where that coin took Harry and he's wandless." Once I had bundled into my Hogwarts robe, she reached out her hands and we walked to her. We grasped onto her hands and touched the coin. 

*********************************************************************


	14. The Black School

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Part Fourteen

The Black School

*********************************************************************

I immediately plunged into darkness. It was like a portkey, but a whole lot more frightening. It was like falling through a tunnel of wind, being blown like a rag doll from every direction, except that I was blind. I couldn't see a thing except blackness. I opened up my lungs and screamed for all I was worth. There was nothing worse than being surrounded by total blackness while falling. 

Suddenly, my hand was wrenched from Hermione's and I cried out for her. The light became gray and then orange with torchlight and I smacked hard against a cold stone floor. Groaning, I looked around for the others but they were no where to be seen. I was alone again. "Hello! Herm? Ron? Can anyone hear me?" I was in a long winding hallway completely made out of stone with high ceilings that I couldn't even see. There was blackness as far up as I could look, but the actual corridor was lit with warm orange light. Shadows lurked in every corner and the walls seemed to pulsate with life, with faces of demons. I was terrified. "Hello?" My voice echoed. 

A light flashed to my left and a wand lit up. "S..Stay back! Don't come a step closer! I'll k..kill you, I swear!" Ginny emerged from the shadows, her wand held out in her trembling hand, Nathaniel clutching onto her robe.

I held my hands out in front of me. "Ginny…it's me…" I was so happy to see her, I had to hold back my joy so I didn't startle her.

She lowered the wand and rushed towards me, flinging herself into my arms. "Draco! Hold me, please!"

I held her close, burying my nose in her hair. I wanted to just take her hand and run as far away as I could. But we needed to find the others and discover what Tom Riddle, formerly Voldemort, had up his Muggle-clad sleeve. 

"Da! Da!" Nathaniel attached himself to my leg and I scooped him up. 

"Do you know where the others are, Ginny?"

She shook her head. "Are they here? Oh god, I'm so sorry. I should have found some way to fight him."

"He was too powerful. None of us can fight him." I planted kisses on Nathaniel's little round cheeks. "Where are we, anyway?"

"I don't know. I woke up alone with Nattie in my arms. I was on a soft sofa…I got up and started to walk. I've been alone for hours." She shuddered.

"We'll stay close together from now on." I took her hand and we started to walk through the dark halls of the stone complex. 

We eventually fell into step with a great many others, mostly young men in their late teens or twenties. They were all clad in long black cloaks with tan hoods over their faces. Their faces were not cruel and they smiled at us as they walked. 

"They don't look frightened, do they, Draco?" Ginny held tightly to my hand and looked around at the serene figures.

Nathaniel was getting heavy in my arms. "They're not afraid. They know what they're doing here. We'd better stay with the group." We hurried along into a massive chamber, not unlike the Great Hall of Hogwarts, only much darker and more sinister. Soon a chanting struck up, almost like we were in the midst of a Monastery. 

"It's so beautiful," breathed Ginny. 

I had to agree, even though the whole thing was giving me the creeps. "But what does it mean?"

"Ginny!" Harry's voice resounded from somewhere across the room.

"Harry, is that you?" Ron.

"Where are you guys?" Hermione cried out next.

By pushing through the crowd, we all met up in the center and clung to each other for dear life. I was relieved they were there. "I'm so glad you're here! The coin must have dropped us all off at different places."

"Coin?" Ginny asked.

"We'll explain later," said Harry. "But what is going on here?" More and more of the young men were watching us by the minute. We did look different in our hoodless robes, but they needn't stare! 

One of them bent down and started to talk to Nathaniel. Ginny knelt down next to him, just in case the young man was up to no good. But on the contrary, he was very kind. "Hello, little one. Awfully young to be here at the Black School, are you not?" The young man had an unidentified accent…as if he wasn't quite from this world.

Ginny started. "Black School?"

"Ah yes, small lady…do you not know where you are? This is the famous Black School in Spain."

Hermione gasped. "Spain?!"

I crossed my arms. "That's just a myth."

" 'Tis no myth, young man. You are here." He gestured all around us and ruffled up Nathaniel's hair. "But we must be silent now. Our Head Boy approaches." 

All heads turned to look up at a raised stone platform where a tall form appeared. He was dressed like the others, but he threw off his tan hood to reveal a head of tousled jet-black hair and a pair of dark eyes. He smiled at the crowd. It was Tom Riddle, looking a bit more like himself. 

All the young men ceased to chant and kneeled down on the stone floor in respect of Tom. We alone stood, looking up at him. He smiled at us, a happy look in his eyes. "Students of the Black School! Our kind Master has allowed us to have an assembly today to welcome five new students into our humble place of learning." He was gazing right at us. "Will the five I address please step forward?"

I glared at him. "Sure Tom…you think we're coming up there? Send us home!"

He glared at me. "Not bloody likely, Draco…you'd better come on up here if you want to keep the pretty heads of the ones you cherish on their necks!"

Ginny shivered and I kept my arm around her tightly. "We may as well do what he wants. We're dreadfully outnumbered."

As a group, we marched through the pack of students, who parted for us with respect. If we were 'friends' of the Head Boy, we must be friends of theirs too.

Tom stooped down and grabbed our hands one by one, pulling us up on the platform with him. "I will now introduce you to our five new students in the education of the Dark Arts."

"The Dark Arts!" Hermione was furious. "I am not learning the Dark Arts!"

"Oh don't worry, Hermione, it will be good for you!" Tom grabbed her by her robes and threw her down on the platform in front of him. "Hermione Granger, destined to be Head Girl of Hogwarts…" There was a murmur from the crowd. "…And even sooner Head Girl of the Black School." He nudged her aside with his foot. "Be a good girl, now. We'll take no trouble from you."

After shoving Hermione aside, he grabbed hold of Ron and shoved him down to his knees. He had incredible strength for such a tall spindly boy. "Ronald Weasley…useless, but sure to amount to _something_ some day." The students laughed.

"Hey!" Ron cried indignantly, but was shoved aside.

Tom reached for my hand and pulled me in front of him. He ran his hands over my head and wrapped his arms around my chest. "Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, one of my greatest supporters in England. A dear, dear, boy. He's raising my son, in fact." He was surprisingly gentle with me. So I was destined to be a favorite of Voldemort. 

He pulled Harry up next. "And this is the great Harry Potter, the child who led to my downfall. The most beautiful boy I have ever seen." He held some of Harry's hair and breathed deeply of the scent. "It takes so much not to hate him…but let's not be too cruel to him, shall we? He is one of us now." Tom shoved him roughly away and he sprawled on the floor, rather molested and confused.

Next he reached for Ginny. She put up quite a fuss, holding onto Nathaniel with a death grip and kicking at him. "Leave me ALONE!"

Tom laughed and pulled Nathaniel out of her grasp. He hoisted Ginny off her feet and held her out in front of him, holding her still with an iron grasp. "Virginia Weasley, the diamond in the rock." He smiled viciously. "What else is there to say? She's the mother of my heir." He pulled her back against himself and slowly licked her left cheek. She shuddered and then cried out as the black streak she had received on her cheek the summer before burned black, much like the dark mark, standing out on the white of her pale face. I stifled a gasp and Nathaniel ran to his mother, crying out for her. 

Tom smirked and turned to the wall. "Robes!" To our amazement, a hand was thrust out of the stone and promptly dropped five robes upon the floor. Tom lifted them and ceremonially draped them around our shoulders. "You must be tired after your journey from London. You'll find your chambers comfortable, I'm sure." He smiled at us. "You will receive guidance in its own time." He waved his hand and I was suddenly in a large well-lit room with Ginny and Nathaniel, complete with a large bed and a little crib for the baby. 

Ginny eyed the bed curiously. "It's almost as if he's _begging_ for us to be indecent." 

I laughed. "Pervert…" I cupped her face in my hands. "Speaking of indecent, how dare he do that to you!" I turned her face and examined the black streak on her cheek. "It's exactly the same as last summer. Does it hurt?"

"No, but his tongue burned a bit." She shuddered. "But I'm not scared! We just have to wait and see what happens. We'll get through it." She knelt down on the floor and reached for my hand. I took it and sat close to her. Within moments Harry, Ron, and Hermione drifted into our room through the open door to the hallway and joined hands with us. We all sat in a circle, holding hands with our eyes closed, in some kind of silent unspoken prayer for the safety of all of us until we found a way out of the great Black School of Spain.

  
*********************************************************************

I've done an illustration that shows Tom in his various forms, and I thought it might help clear up the whole disguise issue. You'll notice that he looks quite a bit different as Thomas than he does as Tom Riddle.

(Copy, Paste, And Take Out The Spaces)

www.angelfire.com / art2 / prettybetsikes / images / tom_riddle_profiles.jpg


	15. Black Arts At The Black School

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Chapter Fifteen

Black Arts At The Black School

*********************************************************************

I woke up the next morning and pulled the covers more firmly over Ginny, who had started to shiver next to me in the chilly air. The place certainly wasn't warm, that I can say for sure. I slowly yanked on my only set of clothes and my new robe with the hood and picked up Nathaniel. I held him for a bit and paced around the room, trying to figure this whole predicament out. Nathaniel was antsy and he clung to my collar, whimpering slightly. "Don't worry, Nattie-Boy. We'll get out of here somehow."

Ginny moaned and rolled over onto her stomach. She opened her brown eyes and blinked at me. "Hi Draco."

"Hi Gin." I smiled at her.

Once she had the sleep properly ground out of her eyes, she looked around the room with fear. "I don't like it here. Please can we go home? I don't care anymore if I'm mature and sensible or not. I want to go _home_!" 

She looked as if she was going to throw a lovely fit and I wanted to join her. But I bounced Nathaniel in my arms. "We have to be strong now for Nattie." I set Nathaniel down to crawl on the floor and I knelt in front of Ginny and helped her on with her new robes. I then gave her a kiss right on that black streak, hoping maybe my touch would make it go away. It didn't. 

Not long after, our little group congregated in my room like we had last night. It turned out we didn't all have the luxury of having our own room, as Ron and Harry and Hermione all ended up sharing one. 

"The lot of us all sleeping in one bed was a little uncomfortable," Harry admitted. "It would have been better if those two hadn't been making kissing sounds all night long!" He shot them a look.

"Hey!" Ron said defensively, "Good old Tommy gave us one bed for a reason!"

Hermione giggled uncharacteristically. 

"What reason is that? Snogging like there's no tomorrow?" Harry countered. 

"I think it's because they're just low on space," Ginny said sensibly. "I mean, there are a lot of wizards here."

I decided to take charge, seeing as how I wasn't at all afraid of Dark Magic. "So, have any of you heard anything? What do we do now?" 

"We haven't heard anything on our end. We came here to see if you had heard anything." Harry shrugged. 

"And to make sure Draco was behaving himself." Ron glared.

"Shut up, you git!" I yelled. But we couldn't stay upset at each other for long. We were sitting so close together in a huddle of black and tan robes that I was wondering if we wouldn't all start snogging with each other by the end of this. We were all so affection starved as it was. 

Ginny was leaning against my back when she suddenly cried out. I jumped up and she fell over onto her back, her weight unbalanced. Harry righted her and we all stared at the wall. Green letters had mysteriously materialized on the dark stone. "_Welcome Students_," read the words. 

"What is that?" cried Ginny.

Nathaniel crawled towards the bright letters and Ron pulled him back. "Let's get out of here!"

Hermione held up her hand. "Wait! I think I may have read a legend about this school once. I think the wall is the Schoolmaster's way of communicating with us."

"Who is the Master?" asked Harry. 

She grinned sheepishly. "I don't remember, I'm afraid." She stepped forward and addressed the wall. "Please…where are we exactly and why are we here?"

After several moments the first words faded and new ones appeared. "_You are in the Black School of Spain, where you are to learn the art of Dark Magic. You were highly recommended by our Head Boy._" 

"This is creepy," said Ginny. "It reminds me too much of Tom Riddle's diary."

"Ditto," added Harry. 

"How can we get back home?" Hermione cried in a loud clear voice. It was all highly dramatic.

"_You must complete your courses first or have the leave to go_."

"And how do we gain a leave of absence?"

"_A student of the Black School must grant you permission_."

Ron groaned. "What are the odds of that happening?" 

More words appeared. "_Refresh yourselves and report to the main cavern for instruction_." 

Hermione looked at us. "I say we give it a go. It might even be useful, knowing about Dark Magic. After all, once we know how to do it we will know how to counter act it."

"I'm with Hermie!" I cried, my love of all things dark taking over. Ginny was smiling too. The both of us would just never be crystal pure and it was time to face it. Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged. They always liked a good adventure.

Suddenly, a huge hand shoved out from the wall with a covered tray in its grasp. Harry stood and approached. "It smells lovely!" He pried the tray from the hand, which quickly disappeared into the confines of the wall again. "Do you think it's safe, then?"

Hermione started to mutter spells of all kinds over the tray until she determined that there was no poison in it that she could find. We pulled the cover off and we were met with the delicious aroma of hot shepherd's pie, warm rolls and butter, and milk. We immediately dug in, starving after not having eaten since yesterday afternoon. 

*****

Studying at the Black School was very different from taking classes at Hogwarts. It was more like a silent study hall that never ends, rather than a class. My little group sat together on the stone floor, our heads hidden under the beige hoods, trying not to breathe too loudly in the silent cavern. The only noise was the sound of breathing and students murmuring over huge books.

"I wonder what's in those?" whispered Ginny. 

"Let's go find out." I took Ginny's hand and led her through the dim cavern. We soon came across a large book sitting on one of the little stone pedestals. We pulled it down using both of our slight strengths. It practically knocked us to the floor, but we lived. Soon enough we were both sitting in front of the book, reading the most delicious forbidden information. This brilliant book told of the darkest wizards and witches, ways to maim and kill your opponents, how to raise the dead, how to stop time…it went on and on. Ginny and I spent a good chunk of time ooo-ing and ahh-ing and eww-ing over all of this information which was emphasized with graphic pictures. By the time we were done with the best parts, I was feeling very excited and, if you want to know the truth, about ready to snog Ginny. You should have seen some of the pictures in there! I ended up chewing on Ginny's neck until Harry showed up.

He looked down at us from beneath his hood, his eyes like emeralds, mixed with laughter and perhaps a touch of jealousy. "Hungry much, are you?"

"Sod off, Harry." I grabbed his hand and used it to pull myself up and Ginny followed suit. "Potter, you would never guess how much we learned from this book!"

"Try not to learn too much, Draco. You and Ginny both look strange and we don't want to have another Chamber of Secrets sort of thing."

"We'll be careful. This magic is just amazing."

"We read a little bit too. But we have questions."

I shrugged. "Ask the wall." I gleefully grabbed their hands and pulled them along. I was practically skipping. 

Harry muttered, "Nutter."

Maybe this whole thing wasn't going to be so bad after all…

*********************************************************************

I wanted to mention that I didn't think up the Black School…it is an old myth I found in a book of wizards and witches and became fascinated with it from looking at a picture which I will post the link to in a moment. I could see Draco Malfoy standing up there next to that large book and the figure next to him soon became Tom Riddle as the story progressed. Also, the parts about asking the walls questions and the food being thrust out from the stones was also part of the myth, but the plot is my own, of course. Hope you're enjoying it so far, and thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Here is the link to the drawing I saw that inspired this part of the story. Please copy, paste, and take out the spaces, as this thing won't let me post urls anymore. 

www.angelfire.com / mi3 / ladygrizdrawings / images / blackschool.jpg


	16. The Old Student

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Chapter Sixteen

The Old Student

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Seconds ran into minutes and minutes ran into hours. Hours to days. Days to months. Months to years. Well, maybe we hadn't been at the Black School for quite that long, but several weeks must have passed; time didn't feel like it moved at all where we were, deep beneath the ground. Yet we adjusted. 

Ginny and I became very good at being dark wizards. For us, it was like being in the Chamber of Secrets all over again because we were free to do as we pleased. Only, we didn't get quite as nutty…just talented. We had mastered the art of controlling fire and water and we would host battles against each other for the rest of the students at night after meals. Ginny and I could produce the most amazing fire and water spirits from the ends of our wands and we would duel as Ginny's fire tried to consume my water and my water fought to extinguish her fire. At the end of every battle we would end up clasped in a heap together in the middle of the main cavern, sopping wet and covered in soot, completely exhausted. Harry and Ron were slightly enthralled with the whole process, but Hermione thought it was sick and wouldn't watch. She was having the hardest time adjusting to our new school. Tom Riddle, meanwhile, loved us. Such talent he had never seen, he said, from anyone lower than himself. 

Every night before we went to bed we would ask the walls of our chambers the questions we thought up during our days of reading and studying. This was Hermione's favorite part, considering the walls were just as smart as she was, if not more so. The rest of us…well, we were pretty dumb in her eyes. Hermione would sit in front of the stone walls in the room she shared with Ron and Harry and watch the bright green words show up, delight upon her face. Nathaniel often would sit next to her, patting the wall with his little hands, fascinated by anything brightly colored.

Nathaniel was a very serious little child and he was extremely well behaved even though he didn't really have an adult to look after him. He would toddle along between Ginny and me whenever we walked through the caverns and play with little colored pebbles and Tarot cards and anything else that was lying around nearby while we were studying. I wondered if that was normal, that he almost never cried and that he was so quiet. Really, he was a lot like I was as a tiny child. 

Harry and Ron were fascinated, but not attached to the Black School. They wanted to go home as much as Hermione did, but at least they made the best of it. Harry had the hardest time with Tom Riddle, whom he hated considering Tom killed his parents. Tom swore that he was changed and, why, even felt bad about it, but Harry didn't buy it. He glared at Tom whenever he saw him and tried to keep him away from Ginny and me, which was a hard feat. Tom was obsessed with Ginny. As for me, I didn't mind Tom too much. I had never been a die-hard Voldemort supporter, but I had never disliked old Voldie either until last summer. Ginny liked anyone who was nice to her, so she often forgot and let her guard down. You had to admit liking Tom was different from liking Voldemort since they were almost two different people. I forgot from time to time that they were one in the same as well. I think we all did. 

One evening Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Nathaniel, and I were hanging out in the main cavern after dinner. Ginny and I were practicing for the evening's show of Fire and Water. Tonight I was experimenting with turning the water to ice and Ginny was dodging sharp ice bombs left and right. "Come on Draco, don't kill me, will you?"

Nathaniel was sitting next to Hermione who was reading from a children's book she had requested for us by way of her friend, the wall. She had also read it to the rest of us in an attempt to keep our minds focused on good things, rather than bad, since it was so easy to loose yourself in a bottomless resource of dark magic. It didn't have much effect on me, but it made Ginny cry because she missed her mum. So Hermione scored a point and managed to pull Ginny and the boys back from the bottomless pit of evil thoughts.

This night, however, Ginny was raring to play with Dark Magic. "Harry, Ron! Why don't the two of you try to duel too?"

Harry set down the book about disfiguring curses he was pawing through. "We're not as good as you."

"So? It's really quite fun. You're good at controlling wind and Ron can make it rain."

"You make it sound so cheesy, Gin." Ron mumbled. "I can make it thunder and lightning too!" 

Ginny ran over to her brother and started to pull on his hand. "Pleeeeease come play with Draco and me? Show Tom Riddle how great at magic you are!"

Harry snapped, "We don't care what _he_ thinks." 

"But I'm bored," said Ron. "I'll play." He picked up his wand and headed over to Ginny and me.

Ginny gave Harry a look. "Come on."

He sighed. "Fine, I'll play. No sense in sitting around doing nothing all night." He hurried over and pulled out his wand. "On the count of three, get ready to feel the wrath of wind!" He raised his wand to the sky and yelled out a spell. 

Wind flew out of the point of Harry's wand and engulfed us. Ginny was thrown right across the floor on her bum, but I set a jet of water in Harry's direction. It soaked Harry and soon a creature in the shape of an evil dancing sprite, completely made out of water was attacking Harry's spirit, which had formed from the wind. In a moment, a fire sprite was turning my water into steam and a fairy in the shape of a lightning bolt blazed forward in a ball of electricity. The water crackled and sizzled as the fire was blown wildly around by the angry wind. It was invigorating and terrifying all at the same time. As we battled, other students drifted in, cheering on our various controls of Mother Nature. Tom Riddle was at the head of them, laughing and tossing conjured flowers at Ginny.

Hermione held Nathaniel on her lap and watched in terror like usual when she dared watch at all. She suddenly stood up and pointed. "LOOK!" she yelled.

We heard the voice before we registered that Hermione had said something. "ALL HOGWARTS STUDENTS WILL STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY!" 

All four of us dropped our wands right to the ground and gawked, dripping wet and singed from fire and lightning. Professor Snape was drifting through the pack of Black School students who parted for him in respect. My voice caught in my throat. "P..Professor?"

He glared at us all. "You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" Ginny was sitting on top of Harry with her hands around his neck. Apparently she had gotten a little overzealous with the game. I was standing there like a little monk in my robe and hood, sopping wet, my long bangs plastered over my eyes, and Ron was trying to put out some flame which had ignited on the corner of his robe.

Snape pushed his way over to us and grabbed Ginny by the scruff of her robe, practically pulling her right off her feet. He did the same thing to Harry and held them up in a death grip. "Having a bit of _fun_ were you?" 

"No," Harry offered meekly.

"Shut your mouth, Potter!" He glared at me. "Malfoy, Weasley, get over here!"

Hermione was standing up on a stone ledge, clutching Nathaniel. "Please don't yell at them, Professor! We didn't mean to come here."

He sneered up at her, recognizing her even in her robes and hood. "I'm well aware of _that_, Miss Granger. Now please see if you can hold your tongue for a moment!" Hermione shut up, needless to say.

Once Ron and Hermione and I were standing next to Snape, trembling with fear and shock at seeing our Potions professor, he leaned down and whispered to us. "I'm trying to get you out of here. Who is the head boy this year?"

"This year? Were you here before, Professor?" Hermione was shocked. 

"Yes, Miss Granger. I was a pupil here long ago, after my Hogwarts training when Voldemort was in power."

We all stared at him in amazement. Harry's expression practically screamed, 'I _knew_ he couldn't be trusted.' 

Hermione continued deducing. "So, since you're an old student you can get us out of here. We'll only be allowed to go if a student or an old student gives us leave."

"That is precisely why I'm here, Miss Granger." He straightened up and looked around, still holding onto the back of Ginny and Harry's robes. "I wish to speak to the Head Boy here immediately!"

Tom stepped up onto the aforementioned stone platform and dramatically tossed off his hood. "_I_ am Head Boy."

Snape smiled, which curled back his lips in a sneer. "Tom Riddle…" 

Tom smiled back, his eyes cold and calculating. "Severus Snape…" 

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	17. Professor Snape's Story

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Chapter Seventeen

Professor Snape's Story

*********************************************************************

It was a tense few moments. Snape and Tom glared at each other for some time before Snape let out a laugh. "So, what happened to Voldemort, Riddle? You're not so tough in your old form."

Tom crossed his arms. "I can become Voldemort again whenever I want!"

"Are you sure?" Snape pushed Ginny and Harry behind him. "So, what are you doing by bringing these kids here? How is this supposed to help your plan of evil domination?"

Tom shrugged, looking at me. "I can use them. Draco and Ginny have two of the most brilliant dark minds of the age."

Snape grasped Ginny again, knocked off her hood, and hoisted her into his arms, holding her up so everyone could see her. He looked at Tom skeptically. "Ginny?" Indeed, she looked tiny and overwhelmed against tall brooding Snape. Hardly evil – rather a messy-haired little nymph. 

Tom glared. "She's a lot more powerful than she looks. Besides, she's the mother of my son. And you…what are you doing here, anyway? I should kill you right now! You're nothing but a traitor and should be made to suffer!" Tom whipped out a wand, pointed it at Snape, and screamed, "_Crucio_!" 

Snape turned his back so that the spell rebounded off him and didn't hit Ginny. It turns out that he needn't have bothered, since it took no effect. He then stood up tall again and set Ginny down, smiling at Tom. "I think someone is loosing all of his powers." You could tell that Snape was loving every second. He had Tom under a complete power game.

We all stared up at Tom in amazement. He couldn't even curse Snape. Even Ginny had been able to work the Cruciatus curse on Snape last summer. I honestly didn't understand. Tom had killed Pansy just weeks ago, but now he couldn't do anything to anyone? What was going on?

Tom stood up on the stone platform, positively quaking with fear and fury. Snape moved towards him. "Come on, Riddle. Why did you need these children? Tell all of your worshipers just how weak you really are."

Tom looked down at him. "I..I needed help. I needed them so they could perform my magic. Because…I can't!" He howled these words in agony and the students of the Black School shook their heads in disbelief. My mouth dropped open. So Tom Riddle, the great and powerful Voldemort, had no strength of his own left. But why? Why?

Snape nodded. "That's right. Now, if you don't mind, I'll just take my bunch and we'll leave. I suggest you find a place and settle down. You'd hate to risk any more…embarrassment from the wizarding community." He smirked at Tom and took Ginny's hand. We all turned to go.

"Wait!" Tom yelled, hopping down off the platform. He didn't seem at all menacing anymore, now that we knew he was almost drained dry of power. "The headmaster will never let you go!" He started to laugh evilly. 

"We'll see about that!" Hermione snapped. She took off running in the direction that Snape had entered from. She was almost to the long hallway when she slammed up against an invisible barrier. She fell hard and tears of shock and pain sprang to her eyes. Snape ran to her and pulled her to her feet. 

"Just relax, and don't worry." He straightened up and observed Tom. "So…I request a word with the headmaster."

Tom's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open a bit. "Severus…are you mad? No one meets with the headmaster. It's not...not possible." 

"If it's possible for five young kids to drain most of the power out of Lord Voldemort, then it's possible for me to have an audience with the headmaster." Snape smiled up at him smugly.

Tom blinked and said in a soft voice. "Can't you just leave them? They're…all I have." He was sad. He was not lying. I tilted my head and studied him. He looked so miserable.

Snape crossed his arms. "Arrange it, will you? We'll be waiting in the east hallway." He put a strong hand on the shaken Hermione's shoulder and led us out of the main cavern, leaving Tom stuttering behind us. As soon as we were away from the other students, Snape dropped to his knees in front of me and pulled me into his embrace, wrapping me in his black robes with relief. I hugged him gingerly, surprised at this burst of affection. "I'm so sorry, Draco. It's all my fault. I should have known who he was when I saw him in my flat, but it didn't click in. It's my fault you were brought here."

I patted his shoulder. "It's all right, Professor." I could feel tears filling my eyes. He loved me. My crotchety old Potions teacher actually loved me. I had never really been loved so much by an adult and I felt like my heart was going to burst. Instead, I broke into tears. 

The others looked at the two of us in surprise, but as soon as Ginny's tears were added to mine with a plaintive cry of "Mum!", Harry, Ron, and Hermione started to sniffle too. In the end we kids were all crying from the flood of emotions. Despite how grown up we tried to be, we missed having affection from a grownup. Snape let me go and looked at Harry. Harry moved forward and threw himself into Snape's arms, something I never thought I would live to see. "I'm sorry," Harry muttered.

Snape awkwardly patted his back. "Come on. Let's get you home, Potter." 

Harry backed off and wiped his eyes. "But how did you get here? How did you know?" 

Snape reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin.

Hermione cried out. "Hey, that's the…!"

"…Coin Tom used to transport you here," Snape finished. "Yes, it is. It looks like a plain old Muggle coin. The Ministry searched my flat and they touched the coin, but its magic had worn off after you used it. You would have been lost to us for good, except for the fact that once I got a look at it, I could see that it wasn't an English coin. It was Spanish. That tipped me off to your probable location. My old school, of course. A haven for dark arts."

"So you were really as student here?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, I was when I was very young. This is where I first met Voldemort, who was still Tom Riddle at the time. We were both students here, after Hogwarts. He was older than I was and more powerful, and so I became one of his Death Eaters out of awe of him. I studied here at this school on and off during his rise to power and his reign." He looked around at his surroundings. "I haven't been back here since Voldemort started to go out of control and kill all the innocents. I had had enough so I joined up with Dumbledore."

We all stood dumbfounded. I had never heard Snape's story before and it made me appreciate him even more.

He continued. "I was just always lucky that I wasn't one of the students who had to stay."

Ron gulped. "Stay?"

He eyed Ron sorrowfully. "Yes…this you will see soon enough. Come. We'll see if Riddle is ready for us yet." He stood and looked down at Nathaniel, who was tugging at his robes. "I just hope…I hope it's not one of you."

I looked at him solemnly. I had the distinct feeling that this wasn't going to be as easy as walking out the door. But what did Snape know that we didn't?

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Note: Gosh, this was one of the hardest chapters to write! So much info thrown at everyone at once! I think I'm as overwhelmed as the kids are. And could this be a new start for Harry and Snape? Hmmmm. I hope Snape's story made sense and stuck as close to the original as possible. I'm not sure if Snape was a real honest-to-God Death Eater or if he was just in as a spy, but in this particular fanfic he really was a follower of Voldie. So if anyone knows for sure…just let it slide. :)

I'll be back next time (hopefully sooner) with Snape's deal with the headmaster and a Draco & Tom moment. See you soon, and thanks for the reviews!


	18. The Deal With The Devil

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Chapter Eighteen

The Deal With The Devil

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Tom met us half way back to the main cavern. He bowed slightly to Snape and told him quite formally that the headmaster would see him in the little library. "Of course, you won't actually _see_ him. No one sees him. But he will communicate with you, so they say." 

Snape nodded and headed towards the small library. We followed along. Snape had a firm grip on Ginny's hand so she went along with him into the library, as did the others. I was about to go in too, when Tom pulled me back. "Stay with me, please?" He asked.

I fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well, all right." We sat down, and I bounced Nathaniel in my lap a bit, since he had been clinging to my hand and hadn't gone into the room with the others. Tom looked at him longingly. 

"Could I hold him?"

I eyed him. "I guess so…" What could it hurt? This boy had no powers. He was obviously not Voldemort anymore, so what could he do to me? I handed Nathaniel to him. Tom smiled and cuddled Nathaniel against his chest. I gave him a strange look. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on? How come you haven't smacked me and tried to make me call you 'My Lord?' You are nothing like you were during the summer. You've faded and lost all your spunk."

He glared. "My spunk's not gone! Just my powers." He grumbled and played with Nathaniel's fingers.

I put one hand on his shoulder. "Look…will you just tell me what happened?"

He stared ahead. "Last summer, when Harry and the others hit me with the Avada Kedavra curse, I was nearly destroyed. I made a desperate grab for Ginny and Nattie, but when I couldn't get a hold of them I fled. I had lost a lot of life force in trying to give it to the baby and I couldn't support my current body anymore. In fact, I was starting to change the second I fell out of my father's burning house. I used a lot of my failing strength to become a disguised teenaged Tom Riddle again, since it didn't take as much of my energy and I wouldn't be recognized that way. I changed my hair color, left it longer. It seemed like a good idea."

I felt anger boiling up. I shoved him slightly. "But then you came back! Why didn't you just go away? Why did you have to come and destroy our lives again? We might not make it out of here because of you!" I balled my fists and practically hissed at him. "Why didn't you just go away? Was Harry really still that important?"

He shrugged. "Harry is…important for many reasons. But I won't go into that now. This time, I figured I could use him for a bit. I could try to turn you all into dark wizards and I thought that maybe I could start over. That day when my old Death Eaters were beating you up, I stopped them and became part of your life to win your trust and eventually lure you to this school to be properly trained in the Dark Arts." 

I glared. "Just think of all the people you've killed..."

"Do you think I actually enjoy killing people?" he flared at me. "There was a reason for every person I killed! I'm only heartless because I can't afford to feel." He took a breath before continuing. "But the more I got to know you lot, the more I actually…liked you." My eyebrows shot up and he turned his head from me. "I know, it's weakness."

I took a hold of his arm and turned him towards me. "Look, actually liking someone is not such a bad thing."

He shook his head. "How can I become the Dark Lord again, Draco? I tried. I really tried. I put magic into that cauldron while you were all sleeping. I tried to earn your favor by blowing up the Slytherins. I wanted to strike fear into their hearts. I killed that Pansy girl. I transported you all here. I was going to take advantage of Ginny while she slept."

My fists balled at this comment.

He continued. "But I didn't. As my power drained away with each little spell I cast, so did my hunger for it. And now I'm stuck in this body and I'm no longer Voldemort. And I _miss_ him. He was mighty and no one laughed at him. Not like little Tom Riddle who was scrawny and shy at his Muggle orphanage. Tom Riddle whose father didn't care about him, gave him away. I _needed_ Voldemort."

I thought this over. This poor boy. This poor, pathetic, unloved boy. I saw myself in him and I also could see where I would have been heading if I had never fallen into step properly with Harry and his friends. I said to him softly, "Tom…it's over now. As much as I need to forget about dark power, so do you. You have no idea how many people you've hurt throughout the years and for what? Can we please stop this now?"

He glared. "I _can't_! I have to be the best! Don't you see that? I have to have control!"

"And you will. You will have control of yourself. We will both gain control together, on our own. The right way."

He faltered, but ended up holding out his hand. "Fine enough."

I eyed him. "You promise you'll try to go straight? No more killing?"

He grasped my hand forcefully. "I couldn't kill anyone if I wanted to. I'm not even a wizard anymore."

I smiled, shaking his hand. "You are. You're just a pathetic one like me."

And thus Lord Voldemort decided that since he had no choice but to live as Tom Riddle again, he may as well try to go about things the right way this time. We were both going horribly soft, but I don't think either of us were having a great deal of fun being dark wizards. It would be hard for him to stay on the right track, but he knew the lot of us could probably kill him if he tried anything, so he was going to make a valiant go of it. At any rate, we decided to go see what the others were up to in the little library room. 

*****

Tom and I walked into the library and our mouths immediately dropped open. White swirls of light were flying around Snape and our group in a frightening way. Snape was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, Ginny at his side, with Harry, Ron, and Hermione standing directly behind him. They all looked absolutely mortified, but were trying to put a brave face on. "Tom, what is this? Who is the headmaster exactly?" This was completely different from talking to the walls. This was a real, true experience that none of us much wanted to be having. The feeling of doom was lowering upon us all.

Tom stood next to me, his legs shaking with terror, almost powerless and looking as if he might drop Nathaniel at any second. "I don't know exactly who he is. But when I was here years ago, the older students had rumors. I've heard that he's…Mephistopheles." 

"What then?"

"Satan."

I gulped. 

Suddenly a sinister voice rang out through the room and everyone but Snape and Tom, who was holding the baby, covered their ears. "_Severus Snape. What have you come before me today to ask? Speak quickly. I do not like to be disturbed_."

Snape spoke bravely. "I have come as an old student to ask for the release of these five students…"

I spoke hoarsely, "Six students."

Snape glared slightly at Tom. "…Six students, and the baby."

The white mists swirled slightly before turning black. "_These students were highly recommended and possess great talent for the Dark Arts. I am not eager to let them go_. _You disappoint me_." 

Snape narrowed his eyes. "It is written in the rules that they must be granted their freedom before the end of the term if a student of the Black School, old or new, asks for consent. This has never been a prison, but a sanctuary." 

The mists swirled faster and faster. Ginny was starting to shake and I knelt by her and held her hand. Some minutes later, the voice growled its decision. "_Very well, Severus. But, as you know, I **will** receive the soul I crave._"

Hermione shivered. "What does it mean?"

"Hush." said Snape. "I understand." He looked at Tom Riddle. "You will have your soul." He rose and pushed us all ahead of him as he left the small room. 

Once we were all in the hallway, Snape explained to us quickly in a hushed voice. "In just a moment, you will all run as fast as you can through the passageway I used to come into the school. Riddle, give Draco the baby. Harry and Ron, hold Ginny's hands and don't let her fall on her weak feet, whatever you do. You make sure you get her out of here with you. Hermione, you stay near Draco. The Headmaster craves one soul from every class that leaves the school. In order to get that soul, the last one out of those doors will have to stay here forever and never see any of their loved ones again. I hope you understand me when I say run and DO NOT look back. You run like your lives depend upon it, which they do."

We looked at him with our mouths open. "But what about you?" I cried. 

He rested a hand on my head. "I am staying here to give you all the opportunity to get out alive, including you Riddle, although I can't figure out why I would save your sorry skin." 

Tom bit his lip and looked away. 

"You will never see me again, but you will not let that stop you from running with all your might through those doors."

I was in tears. "Nooooo!"

"Draco, none of that." He smiled at me with the kindness he rarely let others see. "Look after the others and make sure they loose plenty of house points in my honor."

Harry's lip was trembling. "All this time when you hated us…and yet you would stay here for us." 

He turned Harry around roughly and gave him a little shove. "Take Ginny's hand and go. NOW!"

The others hesitated, but would not cross Snape even in this moment of emotion. Harry and Ron grabbed Ginny's hands and they started to run. Hermione grasped my hand and yanked me along. I held onto Nathaniel tightly and stumbled along behind her, continually turning around again to look at Snape and Tom, who hadn't moved yet. "Noooo!!!"

Snape smiled halfheartedly at me and raised one hand slightly in a gesture of farewell. 

I choked out a few words right before Hermione pulled me around the corner. "I'll never forget you…my Father!" 

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	19. The Sacrifice

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Note: I just wanted to mention that Snape is not really Draco's father, of course. Lucius Malfoy is. Draco is just starting to think of Snape as his father because Snape is the one man who truly seems to love him. Awww…sweet, no? There seemed to be some confusion about that so I thought I would clear it up. Thanks for reviewing everyone! Also, this chapter is fairly intense and even I'm surprised with the direction it took. I think I just opened it up for book 3, which is good unless everyone's sick of it. lol 

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Chapter Nineteen

The Sacrifice 

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I ran with Hermione until I felt as if my chest was going to burst. We ran through the long dark passageway until we came to a rusty iron gate. I let go of Hermione's hand and hoisted Nathaniel who was slipping from my grasp. "Harry, push open the gate! Hurry!" Terror had finally stricken us all. What if the headmaster of all evil wouldn't let us go even now?

"I'm trying, you prat!" Harry yelled. He and Ron and Ginny banged on the gate until it burst free and we all went plummeting through it, panting. "We did it! We're out!" We all collapsed on the ground, clutching our chests. We hadn't run so long and so fast in all our lives. Ron clutched Ginny into a hug and we all just breathed. 

Once recovered, I turned back toward the iron gate, an agonized howl forming in my throat. "Professor! Professor!" I looked at the others who were watching me sadly. "He..He was the only one who really loved me."

Ginny ran to me and threw her arms around me. "I love you, Draco."

"We all do," added Hermione. "Even the boys. We'll look after you now. You're not alone." She and the boys drifted over to me too and we all held each other, terrified and clueless as to where to go from there. 

Ron looked around at the barren landscape. "I suppose we had better try to find some broomsticks to fly home. Do you think the Floo Network works here?"

"I doubt it, since we have to cross the water." Harry shook his head.

I was still staring towards the gate. There was someone coming from inside the depths. "Tom, is that you?" I called. 

But it wasn't Tom. It was Snape. "Professor Snape!" I screamed, running towards the gate. Before he could even reach the exit, I had run back inside and had thrown myself on him. He lifted me several inches from the ground in a hug.

"Come on, my boy. Let's go home." He started pushing me towards the exit.

I looked up at him happily. "But how did you do it? Where is Tom? Is he behind you?"

He looked down at me. "Tom Riddle is staying here. He gave up his soul to free me. He said he wanted me to be with you."

"But…he reformed himself." I paused and turned to look back into the confines of the school. "We can't just leave him there! He's nearly powerless and afraid."

Snape looked nervous. "We have to go now, Draco. We can't worry about him."

Suddenly, Tom was there behind us, leaning against one of the stone walls. "He's right Draco. Just go. I deserve to stay here."

"No you don't! Not forever. You can be a good boy, Tom. I know you can. Just step forward and take my hand."

"Draco!" Snape hissed. "Don't you do this!"

Before he could stop me, I shoved Snape out of the open gate with all my strength and took off at a sprint back into the school. Snape stumbled and fell out of the gate as I grabbed Tom's hand and turned to run with him towards the exit. Tom dragged his feet a bit, but as his adrenaline took over he ran with me with all his might. 

Snape held out his hand. "Draco, NO!!"

There was no time for Snape or the others to make a move. Tom and I plummeted out of the gate at the same time and there was an explosion of light. The voice we had heard in the library thundered forth, but with ten times the force and anger of earlier. "_YOU HAVE DECEIVED ME, SEVERUS! I **WILL** HAVE MY SOUL_!"

Black ribbons of light burst out of the hallway behind us and flew around my body and Tom's. They bound around our hands and our legs and our necks. They started to pull the two of us back towards the school. Tom and I let out terrified screams and tried to struggle, but we couldn't resist the pull of the bonds of light.

Snape ran towards me and grabbed me around the waist. In a flash my other friends had thrown all of their weight onto Tom and me. Tom and I screamed in terror and thrashed. "Draco, wrap your arms around my neck!" Snape yelled. I did so and he started to pull me from the confines of the black ribbons of light.

"_THIS WILL NOT DO! YOU WILL NOT DECEIVE ME AGAIN_!" The voice of the headmaster rumbled all around us. 

The ribbons tightened and I felt blood dripping from my ears and my nose and mouth. Every bit of breath in my body was being squeezed out of me. I could see Tom out of the corner of my eye, blood spilling from his ears too from the intense pressure of being squeezed. He was gagging and trying his best to breathe. 

Ginny was shrieking. Nathaniel was crying 'Da! Da!' over and over again as he clung to one of my feet. My tongue started to protrude from my mouth. Any minute I expected to be completely suffocated. In the next moment, as I forced my eyes open, I saw the black ribbons engulf Snape, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They lost their grip on us and dropped to the ground in a wave of red. 

"Oh God, they're bleeding! They're _bleeeeding_!" I screamed. If I hadn't been so panic stricken I might have noticed that it was my own blood in my eyes, but to me it looked as if my friends, the people I loved, were all dying.

Ginny was the only one who was still free, besides Nathaniel who was cowering nearby. She caught my eye and walked towards me steadily. She spoke to me, choking over her tears. "My child will have his father." My beautiful little sprite walked right up to me and pressed herself fully against my body. She rubbed her arms over my own and the black ribbons moved to her delicate hands and off of mine. To my absolute horror, the other ribbons of light moved from the others and attached themselves to her too as if she were a delectable sweet that they couldn't live without. The ribbons lifted her, her hair and robes whipping in the strong suction that surrounded the gateway to the Black School. I managed to look into her tear-filled and terrified eyes once more before she was completely wrapped in the ribbons so that not an inch of her could be seen. Her wrapped figure was sucked into the dark hallway and away.

Tom and I fell forward as the iron gates slammed shut behind us. Snape immediately ran to me and upon conjuring a handkerchief, started to wipe the hot blood from my face. I was staring at the iron gate with no expression on my face. Snape was shaking visibly. He tried to lift me under my arms, but I was like dead weight. "Draco, can you hear me, boy? Speak to me."

I just sat. I stared. I sat more. Snape turned to the others and touched them on their heads. I could hear crying behind me from Hermione, but the boys were quiet, probably from sheer shock. I could hear Snape saying to them, "This isn't over. Don't cry. We're not done here."

As he was talking to them, I slowly reached one hand into my Black School robes and pulled out my trusty wand. Ginny had tried this just the year before under Voldermort's spell and I was going to follow her example. I pointed it right at the middle of my forehead. I thought for an instant that my corpse would bear a lightning shaped scar on its forehead just like Harry's. Only this time I would not survive as he did. "_Avada Kedavra_." The green light shot out of my wand and I closed my eyes against it.

"_EXPELLIARMUS_!!" Snape screamed and my wand was whipped out of my hand. The green light was diverted and it skimmed the top of my hair. The force from it cut the top of my head and more blood dripped down my face. I clapped my hand over my fresh cut and turned to look at Snape with hatred. 

"_Damn you_!" I shrieked, tears starting to stream down my face. 

Snape glared at me. "Selfish! You would leave this little boy all alone?"

I kept screaming obscenities at him, Ginny's name tearing from my lips in between insults. Eventually, Snape pointed his wand at me and muttered, "_Stupify_." I saw stars for an instant and then nothing. 

*********************************************************************


	20. Muggle Travels

Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year

Chapter Twenty

Muggle Travels

*********************************************************************

When I came to again, I was very groggy. I tried to lift my head. "Wha's wrong wi' me?" I slurred out. 

Snape looked down at me. He was carrying me as he walked along. "You're sedated, Draco. You're going to be all right and so is Ginny. Just rest right now so I can think." 

I turned my head listlessly. Harry was carrying Nathaniel. His jaw was set hard, but he looked at me. "She'll be okay, Draco. Snape knows what to do."

I turned my head a bit more. It looked as if Ron might have gone a little hysterical too, since he was out cold, heavily sedated like I was. As Tom carried his limp form, his small red head rolled back and forth helplessly. Ron's head illustrated how I felt inside. Completely helpless. 

Harry quickened his pace to catch up with Snape's long strides. Once he had fallen into step beside Snape he spoke. "Sir, how are we going to get home? We don't know anything about the magical traveling devices around here."

I ignored the talk about how to get home. Instead I was looking at Nathaniel. I reached out a hand and managed to grip his little fist. I wished I were more alert so I could carry him myself. He turned his dark head and gurgled at me happily. I smiled. Poor little guy. He had the ability to forget things so quickly. I wish I could. 

Snape smiled at Nathaniel and gave me a reassuring squeeze. "What do you know about Muggle technology, Harry? Would you know how to get us onto an airplane?" 

Harry faltered. "Maybe. I've never been on one before, but I think you just buy tickets or something."

Hermione was holding onto Ron's limp hand. "My parents are Muggles." She glanced at Snape nervously. "I've been on a plane."

Snape nodded. "Good. We're going to have to take a plane to get back to England. From the time I spent in the school I know that there's a Muggle airport in the next major city. I can apparate with two of you and the baby for a short distance. Riddle, do you have enough strength to take Hermione and Ron with you?"

"I think so," he said softly. 

"It won't be far." Snape hoisted me a bit. I whimpered Ginny's name. "Shhh…we'll be back for her. I want you to relax, remember?" Snape turned to Harry. "Hold on tightly to my arm, Harry. I haven't done this much with other people and I don't want to loose you on the trip." Harry obediently held onto his arm and fidgeted nervously. "Hermione, you hold onto Riddle. And _you_…" he said to Tom, "…if you try anything funny I _will_ find you and I _will_ kill you." Apparently Snape didn't trust Tom in the slightest.

Tom was very submissive. "I'll get her there, and Ron too." 

Hermione tentatively took Tom's arm and nodded. "I'm ready."

Snape and Tom locked gazes with each other. "You know the meeting place?"

Tom nodded. "I know it well."

"Good." Snape held on tightly to me and in with a pop we were in darkness. 

*****

Not a minute later, we reappeared in a dark alley. I could hear cars honking in the streets and I twisted my head around to take everything in. Tom popped into view with Hermione and Ron, still in his arms. Ron was starting to come to and he looked at me. "'Lo, Draco."

"'Lo, Ron."

He put a hand up to his head and rubbed it uncomfortably. "Where are we?"

Snape spoke. "The airport is right across the street. Do you have on anything under your robes?"

"Yes," said Hermione.

"Good, take them off. We're going to try to look like Muggles." Snape set me down and started to strip off my Black School robes. "Harry, Hermione, pull off Ron's robes. We have to hurry to catch the next plane."

They did this in silence as Snape tugged off his own robes. Luckily he was wearing a white shirt and black leather pants underneath. Hermione gaped at him. She wasn't used to seeing her teacher looking rather dashing. 

Once we were all looking more like the Muggle population, carrying our robes in our arms, we headed out of the alley. Ron and I looked at each other, still not having the use of our weak legs. Even though we were all dressed like Muggles, Ron and I were being carried, which you didn't see just everyday. We were an odd looking group.

Snape strode quickly across the street leading the way. The rest followed, quite nervous. I had the feeling we were the first group of wizards to ever fly on a Muggle airplane in such a big group. A clueless group, at that.

Once we were inside I opened my mouth in awe. So many people mulling all around with suitcases and other baggage, purchasing tickets, talking loudly, and running in all directions to various gates. I clung onto Snape's shirt, feeling very vulnerable in my sedated and weakened state. Snape held me strongly. "Were do we go now, Hermione?" Even Snape looked intimidated. 

"I'll go get tickets." Hermione pulled out a little change purse from her jeans pocket and headed towards the counter.

Harry reached out and grabbed her arm. "Wait, how are you going to pay for this?"

Hermione grinned and pulled a little piece of plastic out of the little purse. "Charge card."

Harry's eyes widened. "You have one of those? A Muggle one?"

"Of course. My parents gave it to me in case of an emergency. I can't think of a better one than being stuck in Spain." 

As she ran off, Harry turned to us. "We'll have to pay her parents back. This is going to cost a fortune."

Snape nodded. 

Hermione soon came running back clutching six tickets in her hand. "We're in luck! There's a plane leaving for London in fifteen minutes. But we have to hurry! It's all the way across the terminal!"

Snape nodded. "Lead the way."

Hermione started to run. Snape looked at Tom. "Can you run with Draco? He's lighter than Ron."

"Sure." He and Snape traded burdens and they started to run. I was so jostled that I thought I would be sick, but part of me wanted to laugh. Hermione was a few good feet ahead of us, belting along. Meanwhile, the two tallest of our lot were running with two nearly grown boys in their arms and the other boy was carrying a small child. People were staring at us as we ran like hell down the crowded halls. 

Somehow we made it to our gate just as it was loading. Hermione thrust the tickets at the flight attendant and we headed down the boarding tunnel and into the plane. Harry looked terrified and so did Ron. "Are we going to die, Hermione?" Harry asked. He could face Voldemort, but an airplane was terrifying. Ron looked as if he was going to throw up.

"It's just like a big broom, Harry," comforted Hermione.

Snape nodded, but he was dreadfully pale too. He promptly strapped Ron and me into seats and placed Nathaniel on my lap before sitting down in the seat next to me. "Hold onto him tightly, Draco. He needs you until Ginny is returned."

Nathaniel lay stomach down on my chest and dropped off into an exhausted sleep. I wrapped my arms gently around him and hummed to him. Ron leaned towards me and rested his head on my shoulder. Once again, Ron and I were bound together in our agony. 

Harry and Hermione were sitting together across the aisle from us, Tom next to them. Harry was clinging to Hermione's hand in a death grip. "I want to get off. I want to get off."

"Remember to breathe, Harry." Hermione was nearly laughing. I smiled at her. It was a relief to see someone showing good emotion. She smiled back. "Okay, Draco?"

I nodded. "Is this beast going to take off soon?"

In response the plane jolted and started to move towards the runway. Poor Harry had his head down between his knees. I laughed weakly. "See that paper bag there? That's for you should you…er…need it."

Harry lifted his head and glared at me. "Shut up, Malfoy."

I grinned and rested my face in Nathaniel's black hair. As soon as I got back to London I couldn't wait to change his little sleeper which he had been wearing for weeks. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't wait to change my own sweater and jeans. Feeling at peace for the moment with Nathaniel on my chest I was able to go to sleep.

*****

How we eventually arrived in London I'm not sure. I was asleep and I didn't wake up again until we were at Hogwarts again. We must have taken a portkey at some point but I wasn't conscious for it. I wondered if Ron and I had been sedated again. I woke up on Snape's bed and sat up, feeling quite like myself by that point. Snape was across the room messing with potion equipment. "Professor Snape? Father?"

Snape jumped slightly at my statement of affection, but he smiled. "So you're awake now. Maybe you can help me look after this scamp." He stood up tall and I saw that Nathaniel was hiding under his robes, peering out at me and giggling.

I held out my arms and Nathaniel ran to me, throwing himself into them. "Mumma?" 

I scooped him up and sat him on my lap. "Professor…?"

Snape sat next to me. "Draco, when you're not in class, you may call me Severus if you wish. I'll look after you now."

I nodded. "Severus…will we really find Ginny again?"

"Of course we will. We will never give up on her. I have a plan. I told you that."

I nodded again. "Where are the others?" 

"They are in their dorms sleeping. We're hoping they can all go back to classes for the rest of the year. We don't want them to get too far behind. As for you and Tom, it might be a while. Tom is currently locked up in a room in the dungeons. I haven't yet decided if I want him to attend school here or not."

"You've got him locked up?"

"He's not safe yet. I have to speak to Professor Dumbledore about him."

I shifted Nathaniel so I could tickle his little round tummy. "Are Ginny's parents very worried?"

Snape got up and dug around inside of Nathaniel's diaper bag, which had been retrieved from Snape's flat with the rest of my things. He pulled out a tiny green sleeper with a garter snake on the front for me to dress him in. "Her parents don't know about what happened, nor does your mother or Sirius Black. The ministry kept it very quiet, not even telling Arthur Weasley, who works there. I promised I could get you all back and I did. Well, I almost did. Ginny will be back soon enough."

"So they think we're just at school?"

"Yes. For the moment that's what they think. They might have to be told eventually, but not until Ginny is back safe and sound, with all hope. They had quite enough of a scare last summer."

I got up, still holding Nathaniel, and went to look out of the window. Spring was flying towards us with a vengeance, driving away the long cold winter. And when Spring was finally here and the flowers were in full bloom, Ginny would be back with us…her little family.

*********************************************************************

__

Note: This is the end of "Draco Malfoy Promises To Be A Good Boy This Year", but it's not the end of the series. I wouldn't just leave you like this, trust me. lol You will all find out what happens to Ginny in the next book. I sincerely hope you all enjoyed this one and are not too upset at me for leaving it like this. But rest assured that book 3 will be starting up with the explanation of what happened to Ginny. I'm going to start it in another book because once I start writing I often can't stop again! If for some reason I can't think of anything else after we learn what happens to Ginny, I will simply add those chapters into this story. But for the time being, this is a good stopping point. Oh yes, I will be adding the addy to the new story here as soon as part one is up. 

Time for shoutouts!

~*Ginny*~ , Firebolt909, and w&m_law: You're my darlings! I have no idea what I would do without the three of you. I swear, you're my best friends here on ff.net. Thank you so much!!! And yes, Amy, I do like torturing you. ;) But you get a kiss from Nattie. 

Stark-raving-loony; maidmarian62; Hogwarts chica; Nicky Lignerson (Yes, Thomas is rather obsessed with Ginny, isn't he?) ; Ron; Draco'sGirl; Sakura and Sarinia (who had a very exciting idea for a romance aspect – hey, Ron and Hermie did kind of get together. See? See? hehe); LilyAyl (Who was absolutely SURE Thomas was Tom Riddle); Lunamew (Who is not a fan of Pansy, needless to say); Hermione (Who gave me the Granger aspect of things. I'll have to draw a picture of just Hermione and Ron for you!); StrangerWithMyFace (Hey babe!!); Cassandra; Lana Mavi (Draco without a shirt is a very good thing!!); Princess Potter; Ginny In A Straight Jacket (LOVE the name!); Sabrina Potter (I still can't figure out if "Don't Stop Stupid" is supposed to be good or bad. *scratches her head*); Hally Lillian Potter (What's up, hon!); Jan Girl (Such a flatterer…*blushes*); Harmony Slytherin (Who compared me to Cassandra Claire, and although I haven't read her stuff, I know that's pretty special! *grins*); Ke Malfoy (Don't worry, babe. Ginny's a fighter!).

Whew! I couldn't mention everybody, but anyone who gives me a review goes down in my book as being dreadfully well loved! Anyway, I just want you all to know that you write the best reviews and you're all so sweet! I hope you stay tuned for the next story! Love to you all!

~Lady Grizabella

setsuna_haruka_michiru@yahoo.com

ANNOUNCING BOOK 3: Draco Malfoy, Seeker Of Souls 

Draco and the others are back in search of both Ginny and her soul. But will she be the same when they find her? Will her soul be saved? Draco, Ginny, Baby Nathaniel, Tom Riddle, Harry and the Dream Team, and Severus Snape! 

(The link is in my profile) 


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